Puss.
A cat, hare, or rabbit. (Irish, pus, a cat.) It is said that the word, applied to a hare or rabbit, is from the Latin lepus, Frenchified into le pus. True or not, the pun may pass muster.
“Oh, puss, it bodes thee dire disgrace,
When I defy thee to the race.
Come, ʹtis a bet; nay, no denial,
Iʹll lay my shell upon the trial.”
