Grandma’s Yeller Cat

When I was but a little boy,

     ‘Fore I could read an’ spell,

‘Fore I could run with other boys,

     Or talk so very well;

I used to go to grandma’s house,

     To hear her sing an’ chat;

An’ then I’d play upon the floor

     With her big yeller cat.

He wuz the best cat ever wuz,

     At least, so grandma thought;

He knew ez much ez grown up folks,

     An’ he wuz never taught

A single thing; an’ my! You ought

     To see the great big rat,

An' all the snakes an’ toads an’ things

     Caught by ‘at yeller cat!

In summer time he uster chase

     Me out beneath the trees;

An' one day he wuz awful mean,

     An’ runned up one of these.

I cried an’ cried, an’ tried to climb,

     An’ I wuz awful scat;

An' when I run for grandma, down

     Jumped ‘at ol’ yeller cat.

O ‘at wuz years an’ years ago,

     I long have ceased to play;

An’ that ol’ yeller cat hez gone

     Upon her peaceful way.

But oft when comes the eventide,

     I glance down at the mat,

An' think I’d like to curl again

     There with that yeller cat.

Oct. 19, 1900