This poem is recited by the sleepy mouse in Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. When I first read it, I glossed over it and I thought it was just another crazy thing Carroll put in his book. However, when I read it again last night, then again, and again, I realize it's pretty profound. In the story, the mouse is reciting this poem while Alice is staring at his unusually long tail.
"Fury said to
a mouse, That
he met
in the
house,
'Let us
both go
to law:
I will
prosecute
you.—
Come, I'll
take no
denial;
We must
have a
trial:
For
really
this
morning
I've
nothing
to do.'
Said the
mouse to
the cur,
'Such a
trial,
dear sir,
With no
jury or
judge,
would be
wasting
our breath.'
'I'll be
judge,
I'll be
jury,'
Said
cunning
old Fury;
'I'll try
the whole
cause,
and
condemn
you
to
death.' "