Facebook comments (I). "Rhyming similarities in the Gruffalo and the Shropshire Lad: discuss."
This comes from a Facebook thread which was mostly about Wendy Cope.
I.
When dark the woods in autumn
Ere lunch I madly strolled.
Through glade and copse I sought 'em,
My dining friends of old.
II.
Though terrible your claws, lad,
And terrible your teeth,
Less terrible your jaws, lad
Than the wart they lie beneath.
III.
Now snug against the winds that blow
Doors underground I shut
Defended by the gruffalo.
But who defends this nut?
I.
When dark the woods in autumn
Ere lunch I madly strolled.
Through glade and copse I sought 'em,
My dining friends of old.
II.
Though terrible your claws, lad,
And terrible your teeth,
Less terrible your jaws, lad
Than the wart they lie beneath.
III.
Now snug against the winds that blow
Doors underground I shut
Defended by the gruffalo.
But who defends this nut?