Poem by Eugene Field

Fitte the Second

Now once his master, lingering o'er
  His breakfast coffee-cup,
Observed unto his doting spouse:
  "You ought to wash the pup!"

"That shall I do this very day",
  His doting spouse replied;
"You will not know the pretty thing
  When he is washed and dried.

"But tell me, dear, before you go
  Unto your daily work,
Shall I use Ivory soap on him,
  Or Colgate, Pears' or Kirk?"

"Odzooks, it matters not a whit—
  They all are good to use!
Take Pearline, if it pleases you—
  Sapolio, if you choose!

"Take any soap, but take the pup
  And also water take,
And mix the three discreetly up
  Till they a lather make.

"Then mixing these constituent parts,
  Let Nature take her way,"
With which advice that sapient sir
  Had nothing more to say.

Then fared he to his daily toil
  All in the Board of Trade,
While Mistress Taylor for that bath
  Due preparation made.

1. Mary Smith
2. Mother and Sphinx
3. A Paraphrase
4. Two Valentines
5. My Playmates

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