If you saw a lion <br />Not within a cage, <br />Would you tease and fret him <br />Till he roared in rage? <br />Would you tempt his anger <br />And his savage power, <br />Knowing he could crush you, <br />Kill you, and devour? <br /> <br /> <br />Yet I know some people <br />Who, morn and noon and night, <br />Tease and fret with bitters <br />The lion-appetite. <br />It matters not what ails them, <br />For each disease and all <br />They seem to think there's healing <br />In demon alcohol. <br /> <br /> <br />So they fret the lion, <br />And anger him, until, <br />In his awful power, <br />He springs up to kill. <br />Let me warn you, children, <br />From this foolish way. <br />Do not tease the lion, <br />Nor tempt him any day. <br /> <br /> <br />Don't believe the doctors <br />If they say you need <br />Any wines or ciders; <br />For there are, indeed, <br />Better cures, and safer, <br />Than these drinks, that slay <br />More than a hundred people <br />Without fail each day.<br /><br />Ella Wheeler Wilcox<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/don-t-tease-the-lion-2/
