Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History BookOpen Original Text e puppy-dog,
I'll give you a new collar,
If you will learn to read your book,
And be a clever scholar."
"No! no!" replied the puppy-dog,
"I've other fish to fry;
For I must learn to guard your house,
And bark when thieves come nigh."
With a tingle, tangle titmouse,
Robin knows great A,
And B, and C, and D, and E,
F, G, H, I, J, K.
"Come hither, pretty cockatoo,
Come and learn your letters;
And you shall have a knife and fork
To eat with, like your betters."
"No! no!" the cockatoo replied,
"My beak will do as well;
I'd rather eat my victuals thus
Than go and learn to spell."
With a tingle, tangle titmouse,
Robin knows great A,
And B, and C, and D, and E,
F, G, H, I, J, K.
"Come hither, little pussy-cat,
If you'll your grammar study,
I'll give you silver clogs to wear,
Whene'er the gutter's muddy."
"No! whilst I grammar learn," says puss,
"Your house will in a trice
Be overrun from top to toe
With flocks of rats and mice."
With a tingle, tangle titmouse,
Robin knows great A,
And B, and C, and D, and E,
F, G, H, I, J, K.
"Come hither, then, good little boy,
And learn your alphabet,
And you a pair of boots and spurs,
Like your papa's, shall get."
"Oh, yes! I'll learn my alphabet,
And when I've learned to read,
Perhaps papa will give me, too,
A pretty, long-tailed steed."
With a tingle, tangle titmouse,
Robin knows great A,
And B, and C, and D, and E,
F, G, H, I, J, K.
AN ENGLISH ALPHABET
Ale,
A is for Apple,
Artichoke,
and Ann;
Brown Bear,
B is for Black Bear,
and Bran;
Chestnut,
C is for Clay,
Coke, and
Coal,
Dear,
D is for Dray,
Dick,
Duck, and
Droll,
Eve,
E is for Eagle,
Eel,
East, and
Ear;
Fan,
F is for Feather,
Furrow,
Fox, and
Fear;
Goose,
G is for Gander,
Green,
Grub, and
Gray;
Horse,
H is for Hound,
Hip,
Haw, and
Hay;
Ice,
I is for Idler,
Ink,
If, and
Ill;
James,
J is for Jane, for
Jack, and
Jill;
Kiss,
K is for Kitten,
King,
Kitchen,
and Kite;
Lamb,
L is for Lady,
Lace,
Luck, and
Light;
Moon,
M is for Mitten,
Mist,
Moth, and
Mote;
Ned,
N is for Nurse, for
Nose,
Nut, and
Note;
Oil,
O is for Order,
Oat,
Orange,
Oak;
Pin,
P is for Pan, and
Pig in a
Poke;
Queen,
Q is for Question,
Quarter, and
Quack;
Reel,
R is for Radish,
Ruff,
Reeve, and
Rack;
Skate,
S is for Salmon,
Sprat,
Saw, and
School;
Tin,
T is for Teapot,
Tar,
Torch, and
Tool;
Urn,
U is for Usher,
Umpire, and
Use;
Vegetables,
V is for Varnish,
and Views;
Want,
W is for War,
Water, and
Wing;
Xenophon,
X is for and
Xerxes,
the King;
Yam,
Y is for Yacht,
Yellow, and
Yawl;
Zeal,
Z is for Zebra,
Zany--
That's all!
NONSENSE ALPHABET
BY EDWARD LEAR
A was an ant
Who seldom stood still,
And who made a nice house
In the side of a hill.
_a_
Nice little ant!
B was a book
With a binding of blue,
And pictures and stories
For me and for you.
_b_
Nice little book!
C was a camel;
You rode on his hump;
And if you fell off,
You came down such a bump!
_c_
What a high camel!
D was a duck
With spots on his back,
Who lived in the water,
And always said "Quack!"
_d_
Dear little duck!
E was an elephant,
Stately and wise:
He had tusks and a trunk,
And two queer little eyes.
_e_
Oh, what funny small eyes!
F was a fish
Who was caught in a net;
But he got out again,
And is quite alive yet.
_f_
Lively young fish!
G was a goat
Who was spotted with brown;
When he did not lie still
He walked up and down.
_g_
Good little goat!
H was a hat
Which was all on one side;
Its crown was too high,
And its brim was too wide.
_h_
Oh, what a hat!
I was some ice
So white and so nice,
But which nobody tasted;
And so it was wasted.
_i_
All that good ice!
J was a jackdaw
Who hopped up and down
In the principal street
Of a neighboring town.
_j_
All through the town!
K was a kite
Which flew out of sight,
Above houses so high,
Quite into the sky.
_k_
Fly away, kite!
L was a light
Which burned all the night,
And lighted the gloom
Of a very dark room.
_l_
Useful nice light!
M was a man,
Who walked round and round;
And he wore a long coat
That came down to the ground.
_m_
Funny old man!
N was a net
Which was thrown in the sea
To catch fish for dinner
For you and for me.
_n_
Nice little net!
O was an orange
So yellow and round;
When it fell off the tree,
It fell down to the ground.
_o_
Down to the ground!
P was a pig,
Who was not very big,
But his tail was too curly,
And that made him surly.
_p_
Cross little pig!
Q was a quail
With a very short tail;
And he fed upon corn
In the evening and morn.
_q_
Quaint little quail!
R was a rabbit,
Who had a bad habit
Of eating the flowers
In gardens and bowers.
_r_
Naughty fat rabbit!
S was the sugar-tongs,
Nippity-nee,
To take up the sugar
To put in our tea.
_s_
Nippity-nee!
T was a tortoise,
All yellow and black:
He walked slowly away,
And he never came back.
_t_
Torty never came back!
U was an urn
All polished and bright,
And full of hot water
At noon and at night.
_u_
Useful old urn!
V was a veil
With a border upon it,
And a ribbon to tie it
All round a pink bonnet.
_v_
Pretty green veil!
W was a whale
With a very long tail,
Whose movements were frantic
Across the Atlantic.
_w_
Monstrous old whale!
X was King Xerxes,
Who, more than all Turks, is
Renowned for his fashion
Of fury and passion.
_x_
Angry old Xerxes.
Y was a yew,
Which flourished and grew
By a quiet abode
Near the side of a road.
_y_
Dark little yew!
Z was a zebra,
All striped white and black;
And if he were tame,
You might ride on his back.
_z_
Pretty striped zebra!
PAST HISTORY
BY EDWARD LEAR
_a_
A was once an apple-pie,
Pidy,
Widy,
Tidy,
Pidy,
Nice insidy,
Apple-pie!
_b_
B was once a little bear,
Beary,
Wary,
Hairy,
Beary,
Take cary,
Little bear!
_c_
C was once a little cake,
Caky,
Baky,
Maky,
Caky,
Taky caky,
Little cake!
_d_
D was once a little doll,
Dolly,
Molly,
Polly,
Nolly,
Nursy dolly,
Little doll!
_e_
E was once a little eel,
Eely,
Weely,
Peely,
Eely,
Twirly, tweely,
Little eel!
_f_
F was once a little fish,
Fishy,
Wishy,
Squishy,
Fishy,
In a dishy,
Little fish!
_g_
G was once a little goose,
Goosey,
Moosy,
Boosey,
Goosey,
Waddly-woosy,
Little goose!
_h_
H was once a little hen,
Henny,
Chenny,
Tenny,
Henny,
Eggsy-any,
Little hen?
_i_
I was once a bottle of ink,
Inky,
Dinky,
Thinky,
Inky,
Black minky,
Bottle of ink!
_j_
J was once a jar of jam,
Jammy,
Mammy,
Clammy,
Jammy,
Sweety, swammy,
Jar of jam!
_k_
K was once a little kite,
Kity,
Whity,
Flighty,
Kity,
Out of sighty,
Little kite!
_l_
L was once a little lark,
Larky,
Marky,
Harky,
Larky,
In the parky,
Little lark!
_m_
M was once a little mouse,
Mousy,
Bousy,
Sousy,
Mousy,
In the housy,
Little mouse!
_n_
N was once a little n Previous Next |