I KNOW an entomologist
Who thinks it not a sin
To catch a harmless butterfly,
And stick it, with a pin,
Upon a piece of paper white,
And underneath the same,
In letters large and plain, to write
The creature's Latin name.

I know another little man
Who catches, now and then,
A microscopic little thought
And goads it, with a pen,
To rhyme, until we wonder quite
How it can keep so tame,
And why he never fails to write
Beneath (in full ) his name.

If you should ask me to decide
The which of them I'd rate
The greater torment of the two
I should not hesitate.
It's wicked with a pin to bore
A butterfly — but then,
I loathe the other fellow more,
Who bores me with his pen.