Rag- by tudor arghezi

Did you happen to see Rag,
China eyes under that shag?
He’s a dog with ragged fur
Very handsome, as it were.
Looks like he is patched together
Ragged tatter over tatter.
Shreds of fur over his eyes
Put his nose into disguise.
He’s all tangled as a fool
Like he’s freshly spun from wool.
But amazingly, this slobber
Is a cunning, practiced robber.
Loiters by the chicken coop
With his scruffy furry droop,
Waiting calmly for a hen
To lay eggs for him again,
Clucking happily as she
Makes a fresh egg instantly.
Since he’s been in this household
He has learnt a lot, I’m told,
And he crawls, at steady pace,
Slinks towards that hidden place,
Paw and muzzle through the hole,
And he swallows the egg whole!

“Where’s the egg?” Asked then the lady,
Of the house, “It’s gone—he ate it!”
“Wait a minute, I’ll unlearn you,
Of this rotten habit, too!
I will teach you not to steal.”—
So a hot egg was his meal.
But as soon as Rag chowed down,
He dropped it quickly with a frown
And swore with a big bow-wow.

When he looks now at the hen—
Next door neighbor, in her pen—
Mutters Rag begrudgingly:
“Damn! She’s trickier than me!”