The Lion

The Lion, the lion, he dwells in the waste,
He has a big head and a very small waste;
But his shoulders are stark, and his jaws they are grim,
And a good little child will not play with him.

H. Belloc

The Tiger

The Tiger on the other hand, is kittenish and mild,
He makes a pretty playfellow for any child;
And mothers of large families (who claim to common sense) Will find a tiger well repay the trouble and expense.

H. Belloc

I and Pangur Ban, my cat
'Tis a like task we are at Hunting mice is his delight
Hunting words I sit all night,
So in peace our tasks we ply,
Pangur Ban, my cat and I

Irish monastic scholar - 8th/9th century.

To Mrs Reynold's Cat

Cat! Who hast past thy Grand Climacteric,
How many mice and Rats hast in thy days
Destroy'd - how many tit bits stolen? Gaze
With those bright languid segments green and prick
Those velvet ears - but pr'ythee do not stick
Thy latent talons in me - and upraise
Thy gentle mew - and tell me all thy frays
Of Fish and Mice, and Rats and tender chick.
Nay look not down, nor lick thy dainty wrists -
For all the wheezy Asthma, -and for all
Thy tail's tip is nicked off - and though the fists
Of many a maid have given thee many a maul,
Still is that fur as soft as when the lists
In youth thou enter'dst on glass- bottled wall.

John Keats 1818