y please,
And give them my milk
To make butter and cheese;
I've often a great mind
To kick down the pail,
Or give Suke a box
On the ears with my tail."

"But ma'am," said the ass,
"Not presuming to teach--
O dear, I beg pardon--
Pray finish your speech;
I thought you had finish'd,
Indeed," said the swain,
"Go on, and I'll not
Interrupt you again."

"Why, sir, I was only
Just going to observe,
I'm resolved that these tyrants
No longer I'll serve;
But leave them for ever
To do as they please,
And look somewhere else
For their butter and cheese."

Ass waited a moment,
To see if she'd done,
And then, "Not presuming
To teach," he begun.
"With submission, dear madam,
To your better wit,
I own I am not quite
Convinced by it yet.

"That you're of great service
To them is quite true,
But surely they are
Of some service to you.
'Tis their pleasant meadow
In which you regale;
They feed you in winter,
When grass and weeds fail.

"And then a warm cover
They always provide,
Dear madam, to shelter
Your delicate hide,
For my own part, I know
I receive much from man,
And for him, in return,
I do all I can."

The cow, upon this,
Cast her eyes on the grass,
Not pleas'd at thus being
Reproved by an ass,
Yet, thought she, "I'm determined
I'll benefit by't,
For I really believe
That the fellow is right."

Jane Taylor

The Cow

Come, children, listen to me now,
And you will hear about the cow;
You'll find her useful, alive or dead,
Whether she's black, or white, or red.

When milkmaids milk her morn and night
She gives them milk so fresh and white,
And this we, little children, think
Is very nice for us to drink.

The curdled milk they press and squeeze,
And so they make it into cheese;
The cream they skim and shake in churns,
And then it soon to butter turns.

And when she's dead, her flesh is good,
For beef is a very wholesome food,
But though 'twill make us brave and strong,
To eat too much, you know, is wrong.

Her skin, with lime and bark together,
The tanner tans, and makes into leather,
And without that, what should we do
For soles of every boot and shoe?

The shoemaker cuts it with his knife
And bound the tops are by his wife;
And so they nail them t