English III: "To a Mouse" by Robert Burns

In this poem, first published in 1786, Robert Burns expresses his distress at accidentally destroying a field mouse's nest.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. hasty
    excessively quick
    Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
    Wi’ bickerin brattle!
  2. dominion
    a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
    I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion
    Has broken Nature’s social union,
    An’ justifies that ill opinion,
    Which makes thee startle,
    At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
    An’ fellow-mortal!
  3. union
    the state of being joined or united or linked
    I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion
    Has broken Nature’s social union,
    An’ justifies that ill opinion,
    Which makes thee startle,
    At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
    An’ fellow-mortal!
  4. justify
    defend, explain, or make excuses for by reasoning
    I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion
    Has broken Nature’s social union,
    An’ justifies that ill opinion,
    Which makes thee startle,
    At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
    An’ fellow-mortal!
  5. companion
    a friend who is frequently with another
    I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion
    Has broken Nature’s social union,
    An’ justifies that ill opinion,
    Which makes thee startle,
    At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
    An’ fellow-mortal!
  6. thieve
    take unlawfully; steal
    I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
    What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
  7. bleak
    unpleasantly cold and damp
    An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin,
    Baith snell an’ keen!
  8. keen
    intense or sharp
    An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin,
    Baith snell an’ keen!
  9. weary
    physically and mentally fatigued
    Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,
    An’ weary Winter comin fast,
    An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,
    Thou thought to dwell,
    Till crash! the cruel coulter past
    Out thro’ thy cell.
  10. dwell
    inhabit or live in
    Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,
    An’ weary Winter comin fast,
    An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,
    Thou thought to dwell,
    Till crash! the cruel coulter past
    Out thro’ thy cell.
  11. dribble
    flowing in drops
    Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble,
    But house or hald,
    To thole the Winter’s sleety dribble,
    An’ cranreuch cauld!
  12. foresight
    seeing ahead; knowing in advance; foreseeing
    But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
    In proving foresight may be vain:
    The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
    Gang aft agley,
    An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
    For promis’d joy!
  13. vain
    unproductive of success
    But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
    In proving foresight may be vain:
    The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
    Gang aft agley,
    An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
    For promis’d joy!
  14. scheme
    an elaborate and systematic plan of action
    But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
    In proving foresight may be vain:
    The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
    Gang aft agley,
    An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
    For promis’d joy!
  15. prospect
    the possibility of future success
    I backward cast my e’e,
    On prospects drear!
Created on Fri Apr 17 13:47:25 EDT 2026 (updated Fri Jun 05 17:50:27 EDT 2026)

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