I wrote this many years ago for a friend who was bravely fighting a serious illness. Her kitchen was almost unique in that she and her family shared it with no less than four tortoises and (I think!) three cats. I had completely forgotten about the verse until I came across it by accident in a dusty file hidden at the very back of my hard drive along with some pictures of me as a baby (no I’m not sharing them!), a very early e-mail and a rather furry wine gum of indeterminate age. So this was written for Sandy, I hope you like it…

 The Cat and the Tortoise

The tortoise and cat were having a chat
As they lay on the kitchen floor
“What is it that you think as a cat?
And why is it you always snore?”
The cat replied, “It can’t be denied
Food is at the forefront of thought
But when I have eaten my resolve is just beaten
And a nap is needed – just short!”

The tortoise looked sad and said it was bad
“You know people always compare
Me in a race it’s such a disgrace
It’s always won by the hare!”
“You have your fur and at least you can purr
I only grunt, snort and sigh
I shuffle around close to the ground
With a shell that looks like a pie!”

The cat was surprised that the tortoise replied
In the way that he had just done
(He’d always admired how they were attired
And the way that they needn’t run!)
He stretched out his paw (not extending a claw)
And purred the way cats can do
“I suppose in the end you just need a friend
And I’ll be that friend to you”.

© Baldock Bard
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