From Comic Songs by Thomas Hudson (London: Gold and Walton, 1818), page 3:


THE OLD WOMAN AND HER CATS.

A very old woman once liv'd by herself,
    In a garret so monstrously high,
Her cupboard was lined, well stored was each shelf,
And in a sly pocket was plenty of pelf,
    To get a drop of liquor when dry.
But the rats and the mice through the holes,
Came into the cupboard in shoals,
So free exercising their gums,
On cheese-parings, candle-ends, and crumbs;
And though it a strange thing may seem,
They wash'd their tails in the cream,
Which was shocking bad manners you'll say:
    Alas, and alack-a-day!
    A curious moral I make,
    Listen, great and small!
    Better have some crumbs for the mice to take,
    Than to have no crumbs at all.

Plagued out of her life, ah, what could she do?
    She collected of cats fifteen,
And went to bed with them all in her view;
There was black, white, and tabby, and tortoiseshell, too,
    With their gooseberry eyes so green.
But the candle was scarcely out,
They made such a confounded rout,
Seizing the victuals, and tearing,
Clawing, and spitting, and swearing,
Broke cups, plates, and dishes, all her store,
Lapp'd the cream up, and mollrow'd for more,
Which was shocking bad manners you'll say:
    Alas and alack a-day,
    A curious moral I make, &c. &c.

They made such a noise, she awoke with affright,
    Not dreaming the cause of the din,
Groped out her tinder-box, and then struck a light,
And the very first object that came in her sight,
    Was—her bottle broke, and spilt all her gin.
She look'd in the cupboard in despair,
But the devil of any thing was there;
Except plates and dishes, broken small,
Cups, saucers, and cream jug, and all;
Each cat look'd as savage as a cur,
As if he could easy swallow her,
Which was shocking bad manners you'll say,
So the poor old woman ran away.
    A curious moral I make,
    Listen great and small,
    Better have some crumbs for the mice to take,
    Than to have no crumbs at all.