To our friends in Scotland, those who have been, and all friends of mice...
"Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring pattle!
I'm truly sorry man's dominion,
Has broken nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!
I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
'S a sma' request;
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't!
Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!
Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,
An' weary winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell-
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.
That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o' mice an 'men
Gang aft agley,
An'lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!
Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e'e.
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!"
-Robert Burns
Friday, January 25, 2008
12 comments:
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One five-man haggis coming up tonight!
ReplyDeleteBig time Wish We Were There.
ReplyDeleteCheck out my avatar (for today only) on the 'Geek...
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/user/slowcorner
Sorry, don't know how to embed a hypertext link in this HTML window.
ReplyDeleteRight on! Todd's wee van sporting a Saltire!
ReplyDeleteYes sir, the haggis is simmering gently even now.
Though the storm rages without, the coal's aglow within.
The beer's chilling, the whisky's laid in.
All in order for the annual tribute to the Bard.
Hang on.
ReplyDeleteIs Todd delivering haggis? Now that would be cool.
He could probably just about fit a 5-man haggis into the back of his squirrel-sized van. If only Bush would see sense and repeal the haggis ban. That alone would make up for an awful lot of nonsense.
Somehow I doubt that it's anywhere near the top of his agenda, but it would be a nice goodwill move...perhaps the best foreign policy move of his presidency.
ReplyDeleteyou always could make your own you wimp!
ReplyDeleteMustafa?
ReplyDeleteI fear it is so.
ReplyDeleteno, it's nae me!
ReplyDeleteWaggling your dishonest hands around again, are we?
ReplyDeleteWrong again, sir! If my hands were moving at all, they were merely expressing that quality of opprobrium that the most inveterate rancour can invent - for those who would lack the moral fibre to do themselves what they ask from others.
ReplyDeleteYou, sir, you would rather blame the President's foreign policy than make your own haggis! Blame America firsters like you deserve more than mere hand waving, that's for sure.