When cats go to sleep as they always do.
When the bed their taking seems completely full.
When the pillows are taken and the blankets are gone.
And they want to lie, but they have to sit,
When eyelids are closing down on them.
Meow if they must, but do not stop.

Naps are strange with their noises and interruptions.
As every one of them sometimes learns.
And many a cat turns away
When they might have won had they waited it out;
Don’t quit looking though the time seems long-
You may succeed with another leap.

Often the spot is nearer than
It seems to a sleepy and crabby cat.
Often the searcher has given up
When they might have stolen the perfect spot,
And they found too late when the girl sat down
How near they were to the softest sofa.

Spots are beds turned inside out—
The tired tint of the eyes of cats,
And they always can fell how far they are.
So stay to the hunt when you’re sleepiest—
It’s when sleep seems closest that you must not stop.