The Ballad of M. T. Nutt and His Dog
The Ballad of M. T. Nutt and His Dog - form Summary
Ballad Humour and Surprise
This short comic ballad narrates a brief episode: a gentleman buys a dog while riding in the bush, only to have the animal latch beneath his horse’s tail, producing a surprise, farcical moment. Written in a ballad's straightforward, sing-song stanzaing and conversational diction, the poem compresses action and dialogue into a tidy punchline. The form's steady rhythm and rhyme heighten the humor and make the anecdote easy to recite.
Read Complete AnalysesThe Honourable M. T. Nutt About the bush did jog. Till, passing by a settler's hut, He stopped and bought a dog. Then started homewards full of hope, Alas, that hopes should fail! The dog pulled back and took the rope Beneath the horse's tail. The Horse remarked, "I would be soft Such liberties to stand!" "Oh dog," he said, "Go up aloft, Young man, go on the land!"
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