A Parable

From Songs of Action (1898).

The cheese-mites asked how the cheese got there,
   And warmly debated the matter;
The Orthodox said that it came from the air,
   And the Heretics said from the platter.
They argued it long and they argued it strong,
   And I hear they are arguing now;
But of all the choice spirits who lived in the cheese,
   Not one of them thought of a cow,