[1] A Little Fish Will Grow, If Life Be Spared, A Great; But Yet To Let Him Go, And For His Growing Wait, May Not Be Very Wise, As 'Tis Not Sure Your Bait Will Catch Him When Of Size. Upon A River Bank, A Fisher Took A Tiny Troutling From His Hook. Said He, ''Twill Serve To Count, At Least, As The Beginning Of My Feast; And So I'll Put It With The Rest.' This Little Fish, Thus Caught, His Clemency Besought. 'What Will Your Honour Do With Me? I'm Not A Mouthful, As You See. Pray Let Me Grow To Be A Trout, And Then Come Here And Fish Me Out. Some Alderman, Who Likes Things Nice, Will Buy Me Then At Any Price. But Now, A Hundred Such You'll Have To Fish, To Make A Single Good-For-Nothing Dish.' 'Well, Well, Be It So,' Replied The Fisher, 'My Little Fish, Who Play The Preacher, The Frying-Pan Must Be Your Lot, Although, No Doubt, You Like It Not: I Fry The Fry That Can Be Got.' In Some Things, Men Of Sense Prefer The Present To The Future Tense.