Edward Lear

“The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea / In a beautiful pea-green boat.”

“They dined on mince, and slices of quince / Which they ate with a runcible spoon.”

“How pleasant to know Mr. Lear! / Who has written such volumes of stuff! / Some think him ill-tempered and queer, / But a few think him pleasant enough.”

“There was an Old Man with a beard, / Who said, 'It is just as I feared!— / Two Owls and a Hen, / Four Larks and a Wren, / Have all built their nests in my beard!'”

“Far and few, far and few, / Are the lands where the Jumblies live; / Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, / And they went to sea in a Sieve.”

“The Pobble who has no toes / Had once as many as we; / When they said, 'Some day you may lose them all;'— / He replied,—'Fish fiddle de-dee!'”

“Said the Kangaroo to the Duck, / 'This requires some little reflection; / Perhaps on the whole it might bring me luck, / And there seems but one objection...'”

“There was a Young Lady whose chin, / Resembled the point of a pin; / So she had it made sharp, / And purchased a harp, / And played several tunes with her chin.”

“Calico Pie, / The little birds fly / Down to the calico tree.”

“They went to sea in a Sieve, they did, / In a Sieve they went to sea: / In spite of all their friends could say, / On a winter's morn, on a stormy day, / In a Sieve they went to sea!”

“There was an Old Man of Thermopylæ, / Who never did anything properly; / But they said, 'If you choose / To boil eggs in your shoes, / You shall never remain in Thermopylæ.'”

“O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love, / What a beautiful Pussy you are, / You are, / You are! / What a beautiful Pussy you are!”