Alphabet, No. 5.

A poem by Edward Lear

A



A was an Area Arch
Where washerwomen sat;
They made a lot of lovely starch
To starch Papa's Cravat.


B



B was a Bottle blue,
Which was not very small;
Papa he filled it full of beer,
And then he drank it all.


C



C was Papa's gray Cat,
Who caught a squeaky Mouse;
She pulled him by his twirly tail
All about the house.


D



D was Papa's white Duck,
Who had a curly tail;
One day it ate a great fat frog,
Besides a leetle snail.


E



E was a little Egg,
Upon the breakfast table;
Papa came in and ate it up
As fast as he was able.


F



F was a little Fish.
Cook in the river took it
Papa said, "Cook! Cook! bring a dish!
And, Cook! be quick and cook it!"


G



G was Papa's new Gun;
He put it in a box;
And then he went and bought a bun,
And walked about the Docks.


H



H was Papa's new Hat;
He wore it on his head;
Outside it was completely black,
But inside it was red.


I



I was an Inkstand new,
Papa he likes to use it;
He keeps it in his pocket now,
For fear that he should lose it.


J



J was some Apple Jam,
Of which Papa ate part;
But all the rest he took away
And stuffed into a tart.


K



K was a great new Kite;
Papa he saw it fly
Above a thousand chimney pots,
And all about the sky.


L



L was a fine new Lamp;
But when the wick was lit,
Papa he said, "This Light ain't good!
I cannot read a bit!"


M



M was a dish of mince;
It looked so good to eat!
Papa, he quickly ate it up,
And said, "This is a treat!"


N



N was a Nut that grew
High up upon a tree;
Papa, who could not reach it, said,
"That's _much_ too high for me!"


O



O was an Owl who flew
All in the dark away,
Papa said, "What an owl you are!
Why don't you fly by day?"

P



P was a little Pig,
Went out to take a walk;
Papa he said, "If Piggy dead,
He'd all turn into Pork!"


Q



Q was a Quince that hung
Upon a garden tree;
Papa he brought it with him home,
And ate it with his tea.


R



R was a Railway Rug
Extremely large and warm;
Papa he wrapped it round his head,
In a most dreadful storm.


S



S was Papa's new Stick,
Papa's new thumping Stick,
To thump extremely wicked boys,
Because it was so thick.


T



T was a tumbler full
Of Punch all hot and good;
Papa he drank it up, when in
The middle of a wood.


U



U was a silver urn,
Full of hot scalding water;
Papa said, "If that Urn were mine,
I'd give it to my daughter!"


V



V was a Villain; once
He stole a piece of beef.
Papa he said, "Oh, dreadful man!
That Villain is a Thief!"


W



W was a Watch of Gold:
It told the time of day,
So that Papa knew when to come,
And when to go away.


X



X was King Xerxes, whom
Papa much wished to know;
But this he could not do, because
Xerxes died long ago.


Y



Y was a Youth, who kicked
And screamed and cried like mad;
Papa he said, "Your conduct is
Abominably bad!"


Z



Z was a Zebra striped
And streaked with lines of black;
Papa said once, he thought he'd like
A ride upon his back.

Reader Comments

Tell us what you think of 'Alphabet, No. 5.' by Edward Lear

comments powered by Disqus