I found this poem in "The Chicago Tribune" when I was in residency and very interested in dye chemistry. It was a reprint from an early-20th-century issue, the author's name having been lost. I thought it was a classic and would be most grateful if anyone knows more about its origins.

The Rider and the Adder

Miss Tudor was a rider in a famous circus show,
For a pet she had an adder, and the adder loved her so.
She fed her adder dodder; it's a plant that grows on air.
Could you find an odder fodder if you hunted anywhere?
Miss Tudor bought some madder, it's a color rather rare,
And it made the adder shudder when the rider dyed her hair.
Her hair was soft as eider when she used her madder dye,
Then it had an odder odor and was redder than the sky.
The adder couldn't chide her, it could only sit and stare,
But a sadder adder eyed her when the rider dyed her hair.

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