ALFRED TENNYSON
Reading edition
England, 1809-1892
The Owl
I
When cats run home and the light is come And the dew is cold upon the ground, 5 And the far-off stream is dumb, And the whirring sail goes round, And the whirring sail goes round; Alone and warming his five wits, The white owl in the belfry sits. 10
II
When merry milkmaids click the latch, And rarely smells the new-mown hay, And the cock hath sung beneath the thatch Twice or thrice his roundelay, Twice or thrice his roundelay; Alone and warming his five wits, The white owl in the belfry sits. 5