‘There’s a rat in my room!’
The old man said,
‘So Catta that rat,
for I want it dead.’

But the cat was asleep
and the rat was not,
so it ran round the room
with a skip and a trot.

‘It bit my toes,
it licked my nose
so Catta that rat,
for I want it dead.’

But the cat was asleep
and the rat was not,
so it ran round the room
with a skip and a trot.

‘It chewed my chair,
it swallowed my hair
so Catta that rat,
for I want it dead.’

But the cat was asleep
and the rat was not,
so it ran round the room
with a skip and a trot.

‘It ate my dinner
which made me thinner,
so Catta that rat,
for I want it dead.’

But the cat was asleep
and the rat was not,
so it ran round the room
with a skip and a trot.

‘It gnawed my knees,
it gave me fleas,
so Catta that rat,
for I want it dead.’

The cat was asleep
And the rat saw that,
so it stopped for a while
by the fireplace mat.

‘Now it’s sat by the fire,
it’s beginning to tire.
Wake wake drat cat
and Catta that rat.’

Then the cat woke up
and the cat stretched out
and the cat gave the rat
a mighty old clout.

‘Catta that rat,’
the old man said.
‘Catta that rat,
for I want it dead.’

And rat did skip
And the rat did trot
And it fell in the fire
And the fire was hot.

‘There’s a rat in my room!’
The old man said,
‘But cat Catta’d that rat,
and now it’s dead.’

—

If you enjoyed this and would like to support my work then please…

Illustration courtesy of, and copyright, Jools Wilson. Follow her on Twitter.

Help us continue to write stories and nonsense poetry which children can enjoy for free. Sign up and spread the word!