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H, ponder, friend, the porcupine; Refresh your recollection, And sit a moment, to define His means of self-protection.

How truly fortified is he! Where is the beast his double In forethought of emergency And readiness for trouble?

Recall his figure, and his shade— How deftly planned and clearly For slithering through the dappled glade Unseen, or pretty nearly.

Yet should an alien eye discern His presence in the woodland, How little has he left to learn Of self-defense! My good land!

For he can run, as swift as sound, To where his goose may hang high; Or thrust his head against the ground And tunnel half to Shanghai;

Or he can climb the dizziest bough— Unhesitant, mechanic— And, resting, dash from off his brow The bitter beads of panic;