The Old Man and the Goats

There lived an old man in the vale, With gentle goats both meek and frail, He fed them sweet brown grass to please — Boys and girls would gather near the trees.

With light in his eyes, he watched their play, For every moment was bright and gay, But Nature’s breath became a call — And he knew in time, they would fain turn to fall.

So he lingered close, through the morn and night, With a watchful gaze, to keep them in sight. And when they frolicked just out of reach — He would hie to the woods in a lesson to teach!

• Rudyard Kipling