"She is sitting upstairs in her grief,
And her eyes with her weeping are sore;
From her sorrow she gets no relief,
Now poor old Mr. Fox is no more! "
"But just tell her, miss, that a young fox has come to woo her."
"Very well, young master," answered the cat
Up went the cat pit-a-pat, pit-a-pat.
She knocks at the door, rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat!
"Mrs. Fox, are you there?"
"Yes, yes, pussy dear!"
"There's a suitor below,
Shall I tell him to go?"
"But what is he like?" asked Mrs. Fox "Has he nine beautiful tails, like dear Mr. Fox?"
"Oh no," answered the cat; "he has only one."
"Then I won't have him," said Mrs. Fox.
So the cat went down-stairs, and sent the suitor away. Soon there was another knock at the door. It was another fox come to woo. He had two tails, but he met with no better success than the first. Then there arrived more foxes, one after another, each with one more tail than the last, but they were all dismissed, until there came one with nine tails like old Mr. Fox When the widow heard that she cried, full of joy, to the cat,
"Now, open door and window wide,
And turn old Mr. Fox outside."
But before they could do so, up jumped old Mr. Fox from under the bench, and cudgelled the whole pack, driving them, with Mrs. Fox, out of the house.
