A moral, they say, is taught through a tale
But has one been taught by a flashy tail
Here is a story of a lizard on a wall
Who least knew that pride cometh before a fall
Oh! He was full of conceit and vain
Most of the time he was a pain
He swished it and swashed it with much élan
He swore by his tail as the king of the clan
He seldom missed an opportunity to flaunt
It seemed impossible for anyone to daunt
And slowly he became quite mean
Until a cat appeared on the scene
Lizard didn’t notice the stealthy shadow
Until cat’s paw came down in a blow
His sporty tail came off like a worm
And left him quite like an infirm
Without his tail lizard hid in his hole
Pride and conceit had taken its toll
For many a day he never came out
Ever since he was put to rout
His gloom turned grim
So his friends took pity on him
His pride had done an about-face
Enough to wean him out of his hiding place
Though no flashy tail to adorn
It was no reason to mourn
A tiny stub had grown in its place
Just enough to save his face
With his tail lizard lost his pride
There was no more swagger in his stride
He learnt never to be haughty and high
‘Cause what he owned he could lose in a blink of an eye
Bindu Vidyadhar
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-tale-of-a-tail/
