A Tale of a Tail

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 source of 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

Off came his tail like a wiggly worm

And left him distraught, 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 the cat put him to rout

His gloom and dismay turned him grim

So his friends took pity on him

By this time his pride had done an about-face

Enough to wean him out of his hiding place

He no longer had a flashy tail to adorn

And no longer his tail did he mourn

A tiny stub had grown in its place

Just enough to save his face

He had lost his tail and with it his pride

There was no strut or swagger in his stride

He learnt never to be haughty and high

One can lose anything in a blink of an eye

-Bindu Vidyadhar