Lewis Carroll: The Hunting of the Snark

5. Fit the Fifth: THE BEAVER'S LESSON (continued)

" Its flavor when cooked is more exquisite far
     Than mutton, or oysters, or eggs:
(Some think it keeps best in an ivory jar,
     And some, in mahogany kegs:)

"You boil it in sawdust: you salt it in glue:
     You condense it with locusts and tape:
Still keeping one principal object in view--
     To preserve its symmetrical shape."

The Butcher would gladly have talked till next day,
     But he felt that the lesson must end,
And he wept with delight in attempting to say
     He considered the Beaver his friend.

While the Beaver confessed, with affectionate looks
     More eloquent even than tears,
It had learned in ten minutes far more than all books
     Would have taught it in seventy years.

They returned hand-in-hand, and the Bellman, unmanned
     (For a moment) with noble emotion,
Said "This amply repays all the wearisome days
     We have spent on the billowy ocean!"

Such friends, as the Beaver and Butcher became,
     Have seldom if ever been known;
In winter or summer, 'twas always the same--
     You could never meet either alone.

And when quarrels arose--as one frequently finds
     Quarrels will, spite of every endeavor--
The song of the Jubjub recurred to their minds,
     And cemented their friendship for ever!