1914
A Thanksgiving Fable (op. 75, no. 2)
Composed by 
Amy Marcy Beach
Amy Marcy Beach Text by 
Oliver Herford
Oliver Herford "A Thanksgiving Fable" is the second song of Beach's Four Songs, op 75. This cycle sets texts written for children by American writers Abbie Farwell Brown and Oliver Herford, as well as British writer William Brighty Rands.
Text
A Thanksgiving Fable
by Oliver Herford
It was a hungry pussy-cat,
Upon Thanksgiving morn,
And she watched a thankful little mouse,
That ate an ear of corn.
“If I ate that thankful little mouse,
How thankful he should be,
When he has made a meal himself,
To make a meal for me!
“Then with his thanks for having fed,
And his thanks for feeding me,
With all his thankfulness inside,
How thank-full I shall be!”
Thus mused the hungry pussy cat,
Upon Thanksgiving Day;
But the little mouse had overheard
And declined (with thanks) to stay.
Sheet Music
Four Songs, Op. 75
Amy Beach
The Candy Lion (op. 75, no. 1)
A Thanksgiving Fable (op. 75, no. 2)
Prayer of a Tired Child (op. 75, no. 4)
A Thanksgiving Fable (op. 75, no. 2)
Prayer of a Tired Child (op. 75, no. 4)