The Platypus.

My child, the Duck-billed Plat-y-pus A sad ex-am-ple sets for us: From him we learn how In-de-ci-sion Of char-ac-ter pro-vokes De-ri-sion. This vac-il-lat-ing Thing, you see, Could not de-cide which he would be, Fish, Flesh, or Fowl, and chose all three. The sci-en-tists were sore-ly vexed To clas-si-fy him; so per-plexed Their brains that they, with Rage at bay, Called him a hor-rid name one day,— A name that baf-fles, frights, and shocks us,— Or-ni-tho-rhyn-chus Par-a-dox-us.