I call you bad, my little child, <br />Upon the title page, <br />Because a manner rude and wild <br />Is common at your age. <br /> <br />The Moral of this priceless work <br />(If rightly understood) <br />Will make you - from a little Turk - <br />Unnaturally good. <br /> <br />Do not as evil children do, <br />Who on the slightest grounds <br />Will imitate the Kangaroo, <br />With wild unmeaning bounds: <br /> <br />Do not as children badly bred, <br />Who eat like little Hogs, <br />And when they have to go to bed <br />Will whine like Puppy Dogs: <br /> <br />Who take their manners from the Ape, <br />Their habits from the Bear, <br />Indulge the loud unseemly jape, <br />And never brush their hair. <br /> <br />But so control your actions that <br />Your friends may all repeat. <br />'This child is dainty as the Cat, <br />And as the Owl discreet.'<br /><br />Hilaire Belloc<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/introduction-the-bad-child-s-book-of-beasts/
