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" He's outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.)
And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard's.
And when the larder's looted, or the jewel-case is rifled,
Or when the milk is missing, or another Peke's been stifled,
Or the greenhouse glass is broken, and the trellis past repair -
Ay, there's the wonder of the thing! Macavity's not there!

And when the Foreign Office find a Treaty's gone astray,
Or the Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way,
There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair -
But it's useless to investigate - Mcavity's not there!
And when the loss has been disclosed, the Secret Service say:
'It must have been Macavity!' - but he's a mile away.
You'll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of his thumbs,
Or engaged in doing complicated long-division sums.

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,
There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
He always has an alibi, and one or two to spaer:
At whatever time the deed took place - MACAVITY WASN'T THERE!
And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone)
Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the time
Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of Crime! "

T.S. Eliot , Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats


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T.S. Eliot quote : He's outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.)<br />And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard's.<br />And when the larder's looted, or the jewel-case is rifled,<br />Or when the milk is missing, or another Peke's been stifled,<br />Or the greenhouse glass is broken, and the trellis past repair -<br />Ay, there's the wonder of the thing! Macavity's not there!<br /><br />And when the Foreign Office find a Treaty's gone astray,<br />Or the Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way,<br />There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair -<br />But it's useless to investigate - Mcavity's not there!<br />And when the loss has been disclosed, the Secret Service say:<br />'It must have been Macavity!' - but he's a mile away.<br />You'll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of his thumbs,<br />Or engaged in doing complicated long-division sums.<br /><br />Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,<br />There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.<br />He always has an alibi, and one or two to spaer:<br />At whatever time the deed took place - MACAVITY WASN'T THERE!<br />And they say that all the Cats whose wicked deeds are widely known<br />(I might mention Mungojerrie, I might mention Griddlebone)<br />Are nothing more than agents for the Cat who all the time<br />Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of Crime!