James Weldon Johnson, "The Tale of a Kitten" (1920)
Louie! Louie! Don't you hear?
Don't hold the cat up by her tail;
Its strength might of a sudden fail.
Then, oh, what a pity!
You would have a little kitty,
Wandering all around forlorn,
Of her pride and beauty shorn,
And not knowing what to do,
But to sit alone and mew;
For like a ship without a sail,
Would be a cat without a tail.
Published in The Brownies' Book, January 1920