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A boy took away to Nantasket
A kitty-puss tied in a basket;
     He thought, when he got her
     Far out on the water,
She’d never get back, should she ask it.

So he shut up his eyes as he threw her
Far off where the water was bluer;
     Then pulled for the shore,
     With a very swift oar,
From a sight that he could not endure.

All the way he seemed seeing with pity
How sharks were devouring his kitty;
     His eyes were a source full
     Of tears so remorseful
He couldn’t tell rocks from a city!

He hurried away with his basket
Afar from the seas of Nantasket,
     In the lap of his mother
     His anguish to smother,
Or under her apron to mask it.

But when he had opened the door,
There meekly sat puss on the floor,
     She was licking her fur,
     All ready to purr,
And she never was drowned any more!