THE  SNARK

                                By B. Rule Stout

Boys, have you heard  that sneaking Snark,

That  prowls  the mountains after  dark,

With  grisly, grim, and  gruesome features,

       And  eats  up  dogs  and  other creatures?
He may  be gone for most a  year

Then suddenly  he'll  reappear

And  when  he screams and  snorts and  roars

        You'd better  keep inside the doors.

One  night some  boys heard  a  loud squall

And  then  they  heard  a  yearling  bawl,

Next day  they searched  the  place  all  round

  But that  prize calf  was  never found.
Another  night  they  were  hunting coon­

'Twas cold  and  dark,  no stars or moon­
When all  the dogs  began  to  bark:

        Hot on the scent of that old snark.

They trailed  him through an  ivy rough,

Straight  up through  Hangman's  Haunted  Bluff,

Then on  past boulders,  cliffs and  caves

Where he cavorts  and  roars  and  raves.
A brave  bear-hound  led in the trail;

They heard  him bark,  then scream and wail.
A search  revealed  some torn  up ground,

But not a  trace  of that  brave hound.

A girl would  tattle,  fuss and  shirk
Letting   her  ma do  all  the work.
One  day  she  walked  into a  glen

And  never more  was  seen  again.
There was  a very willful  lad,

He'd  smoke and  cuss and  sass his dad.

One  night that Snark,  with one  fierce squall,
Snatched  him through  a  creviced wall.

A drunken  bandit,  steeped  in sin,
Approached  a  farm-house  to "breakin,"

One  rending  squall,   then  screams  and  groans-
       They  never  even  found  his  bones.

I've  heard  the chill Whang-doo-dle  growl,
The  Wampus  wail,  the  Werewolf  howl,
The Lobo  and  the  Wild Dog bark-

       "Great   Caesar's ghost,"  I heard that Snark!

I'm  scared  to  death! What  can  I do?
He's coming after  m-m-me! or y-y-youl