Limericks with moral lessons

"A bird in the hand is worth one in the mouth:"

A grosbeak with brilliant red plumage
Allowed one tiny finch to pay homage
The finch flitted close
But then snap! went the gros
The powerful needn't suffer to rummage

"Any cat can be trained. But only one kind of cat can learn 'stay'. The dead kind."

Trivet the housecat loosed one feral growl
But was outdone by a massive wolf howl
Trivetsy ran with a screech
But was not out of reach
And consequently was found disemboweled

"Vanity is a fickle mistress:"

The tort-lawyer was as fast as his hair
That he combed in a pompador flair
With one flick of his neck
So his spine was a wreck
He then sued himself for compulsory care

"Nothing lasts forever:"

An anatomically correct G.I. Joe
Snapped off his... err... biggest toe
Poor Joe was now maimed
Or rather, was tamed
Your mom (the collector) screamed, "NO!"

"Despair is French for 'these two':"

Gumby was once left to die
In the desert, he sat with a sigh
As he cracked in the sun
Gumby pulled out his gun
And shot Pokey square in the eye

I hope we all learned something today.