Oh! the circus swooped down <br />On the Narrabri town, <br />For the Narrabri populace moneyed are; <br />And the showman he smiled <br />At the folk he beguiled <br />To come all the distance from Gunnedah. <br />But a juvenile smart, <br />Who objected to "part", <br />Went in on the nod, and to do it he <br />Crawled in through a crack <br />In the tent at the back, <br />For the boy had no slight ingenuity. <br /> <br />And says he with a grin, <br />"That's the way to get in; <br />But I reckon I'd better be quiet or <br />They'll spiflicate me," <br />And he chuckled, for he <br />Had the loan of the circus proprietor. <br /> <br />But the showman astute <br />On that wily galoot <br />Soon dropped -- you'll be thinking he leathered him -- <br />Not he; with a grim <br />Sort of humourous whim, <br />He took him and tarred him and feathered him. <br /> <br />Says he, "You can go <br />Round the world with a show, <br />And knock every Injun and Arab wry; <br />With your name and your trade <br />On the posters displayed, <br />The feathered what-is-it from Narrabri. <br /> <br />Next day for his freak <br />By a Narrabri Beak, <br />He was jawed with a deal of verbosity; <br />For his only appeal <br />Was "professional zeal" -- <br />He wanted another monstrosity. <br /> <br />Said his Worship, "Begob! <br />You are fined forty bob, <br />And six shillin's costs to the clurk!" he says. <br />And the Narrabri joy, <br />Half bird and half boy. <br />Has a "down" on himself and on circuses.<br /><br />Andrew Barton Paterson<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/tar-and-feathers/
