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Hilaire Belloc

The Whale that wanders round the Pole
Is not a table fish.
You cannot bake or boil him whole
Nor serve him in a dish;

But you may cut his blubber up
And melt it down for oil.
And so replace the colza bean
(A product of the soil).

These facts should all be noted down
And ruminated on,
By every boy in Oxford town
Who wants to be a Don.

Online text © 1998-2008 Poetry X. All rights reserved.
From The Bad Child’s Book of Beasts | 1896

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