#kipling

If you can try to nap where someone's sitting, Although there is another empty chair, Then rub against his ankle without quitting Until he rises from your favorite lair; If you can whine and whimper by a portal Until the bolted door is opened wide, Then howl as if you've got a wound that's mortal Until he comes and lets you back inside; If you can give a guest a nasty spiking, But purr when you are petted by a thief; If you can find the food not to your liking Because they put some cheese in with the beef; If you can leave no proffered hand unbitten, And pay no heed to any rule or ban, then all will say you are a Cat, my kitten. And -- which is more -- you'll make a fool of Man! ↗

— Henry N. Beard

#humor #rudyard-kipling #food

I Keep Six Honest Serving Men ..." I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. I send them over land and sea, I send them east and west; But after they have worked for me, I give them all a rest. I let them rest from nine till five, For I am busy then, As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea, For they are hungry men. But different folk have different views; I know a person small— She keeps ten million serving-men, Who get no rest at all! She sends'em abroad on her own affairs, From the second she opens her eyes— One million Hows, two million Wheres, And seven million Whys! ↗

— Rudyard Kipling

#rudyard-kipling #business

And the first rude sketch that the world had seen was joy to his mighty heart; 'till the Devil whispered behind the leaves "It's pretty, but IS it Art? ↗

— Rudyard Kipling

#what-is-art #art

And the first rude sketch that the world had seen was joy to his mighty heart; 'till the Devil wispered from behind the leaves "it's pretty, but is it art? ↗

— Rudyard Kipling

#what-is-art #art

Dad used to read aloud to us from Dickens and Kipling. My tastes were omnivorous. I read anything I could lay my hands on, but the memory that stays with me is that of my father reading the Jungle Books to us when we were young. Beautiful stories! ↗

— A.B. Guthrie

#childhood-memory #childhood-stories #dickens #interview-transcription #kipling

Body and spirit, I surrendered whole, To harsh Instructors- and received a soul. ↗

— Rudyard Kipling

#kipling #soul #education

She is intensely human, and lives to look upon life. ↗

— Rudyard Kipling

#life

A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition ↗

— Rudyard Kipling

#wine