THERE was Pegasus famed in old story,
A dragon too, turned by a screw;
What were they, and their wonderful glory,
Compared, wooden Dobbin, with you?
You need neither manger nor bin;

You are shod without shoes to your feet;
You starve, and yet never grow thin;
You work, and want nothing to eat!

II.

My father has steeds in his stable,

Worth hundreds and hundreds of pounds;

And oh very often at table

Their worth and their praises he sounds:

There is Wildfire, and Wagtail, and Wager,

And many another beside;

But racer, and hunter, and stager,

Are nought to the one that I ride.

III.

Yet if I should wish for a buyer,

I fear a long while I might stop;
For I can't trace your pedigree higher
Than up to the carpenter's shop.

Never mind;-for when asked for your points,
E'en a jockey of honour may say,
That if you are stiff in your joints,

It keeps you from running away.

IV.

If I give you a cruel hard smack,
No dread of your rearing before;
If I happen to fall from your back,
No fear of a kick on the floor :-
You're saddled, and bridled, and ready,
Alike through the day and the night;
And well do I call you, Old Steady,
That never was known to take fright.

V.

The Greeks gave the Trojans a shock,
With a horse that, like mine, was of wood;
But being unable to rock,

Though larger, it was not so good:-
To be horsed as I am is a pleasure,
At school to be horsed is no joke;
So I'll e'en make the most of my leisure,
And bid you good-morrow, good folk.

i