interesting find in the Carnival of Cats....

I left a comment there, and thought I would post the Barber version for comparison.

The Monk and his Cat

Pangur, white Pangur,
How happy we areAlone together, Scholar and cat.
Each has his own work to do daily;
For you it is hunting, for me study.
Your shining eye watches the wall;
my feeble eye is fixed on a book.
You rejoice when your claws entrap a mouse;
I rejoice when my mind fathoms a problem.
Pleased with his own artNeither hinders the other;
Thus we live everwithout tedium and envy.
Pangur, white Pangur,
How happy we areAlone together,
Scholar and cat.