A dirty badger, from his noisome dwelling,
Observ'd from branch to branch a squirrel springing:
'Twas near the badger's den where dwelt the squirrel,
On an old tree, to Pan once consecrated.
"Ho! Cousin, Ho!" so cried the dirty badger,
"Hast thou forgotten, say, that thou by nature
Art classed among the quadrupeds? 'Tis folly
And an unseemly vanity that make thee
Ashamed of earth—and seeking habitation
Among the fowls of heaven. Descend, companion;
Come dwell among thy kindred, and abandon
Thy towering friskings. Cousin bear leaps often,
I too, sometimes—but then it is with discretion."
The little creature listened to the counsel,
And answered meekly—"I am but a squirrel,
And thou—a badger."