"Shall I never see thee more? Shall it be beyond the grave Where from earthly travail free Thy bright spirit spreads its wings? "Ah, if I might once again Lick my darling Mumma's snout-- Lovely snout as dear to me As if smeared with honey-dew. "Might I only sniff once more That aroma sweet and rare Of my dear and dusky mate-- Scent as sweet as roses' breath! "But, alas! my Mumma lies In the bondage of that tribe Which believes itself Creation's Lords and bears the name of Man! "Death! Damnation! that these men-- Cursèd arch-aristocrats! Should with haughty insolence Look upon the world of beasts! "They who steal our wives and young, Chain us, beat us, slaughter us!-- Yea, they slaughter us and trade In our corpses and our pelts! "More, they deem these hideous deeds Justified--particularly Towards the noble race of bears-- This they call the Rights of Man! "Rights of Man? The Rights of Man! Who bestowed these rights on you? Surely 'twas not Mother Nature-- She is ne'er unnatural! "Rights of Man! Who gave to you All these privileges rare? Verily it was not Reason-- Ne'er unreasonable she! "Is it, men, because you roast, Stew or fry or boil your meat, Whilst our own is eaten raw, That you deem yourselves so grand? "In the end 'tis all the same. Food alone can ne'er impart Any worth;--none noble is Save who nobly acts and feels! "Are you better, human things, Just because success attends All your arts and sciences? No mere wooden-heads are we! "Are there not most learnèd dogs! Horses, too, that calculate Quite as well as bankers?--Hares Who have skill in beating drums? "Are not beavers most adroit In the craft of waterworks? Were not clyster-pipes invented Through the cleverness of storks? "Do not asses write critiques? Do not apes play comedy? Could there be a greater actress Than Batavia the ape? "Do the nightingales not sing? Is not Freiligrath a bard? Who e'er sang the lion's praise Better than his brother mule? "In the art of dance have I Gone as far as Raumer quite In the art of letters--can he Scribble better than I dance? "Why should mortal men be placed O'er us animals? Though high You may lift your heads, yet low In those heads your thoughts do crawl. "Human wights, why better, pray, Than ourselves? Is it because Smooth and slippery is your skin? Snakes have that advantage too! "Human hordes! two-legged snakes! Well indeed I understand That those flapping pantaloons Must conceal your serpent hides!