Hermit Songs, Op. 29: The Monk and His Cat

Pangur, white Pangur
How happy we are
Alone 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 art
Neither hinders the other;
Thus we live ever
Without tedium and envy
Pangur, white Pangur
How happy we are
Alone togethr, Scholar and cat