The Pobble Who Has no Toes

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To the hills of the Chankly Bore."

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.

Edward Lear.

THE POBBLE WHO HAS NO TOES

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!"

And his Aunt Jobiska made him drink

Lavender water tinged with pink;

For she said, "The World in general knows
There's nothing so good for a Pobble's toes!"

The Pobble who has no toes

Swam across the Bristol Channel;

But before he set out he wrapped his nose
In a piece of scarlet flannel.

For his Aunt Jobiska said, "No harm
Can came to his toes if his nose is warm;

And it's perfectly known that a Pobble's toes
Are safe provided he minds his nose."

The Pobble swam fast and well,

And when boats or ships came near him, He tinkledy-binkledy-winkled a bell

So that all the world could hear him.

And all the Sailors and Admirals cried,
When they saw him nearing the farther side,
"He has gone to fish for his Aunt Jobiska's
Runcible Cat with crimson whiskers!"

But before he touched the shore-
The shore of the Bristol Channel,
A sea-green Porpoise carried away
His wrapper of scarlet flannel.

And when he came to observe his feet,
Formerly garnished with toes so neat,
His face at once became forlorn

On perceiving that all his toes were gone!

And nobody ever knew,

From that dark day to the present, Whoso had taken the Pobble's toes,

In a manner so far from pleasant. Whether the shrimps or crawfish gray, Or crafty mermaids stole them away, Nobody knew; and nobody knows

How the Pobble was robbed of his twice five toes!

The Pobble who has no toes

Was placed in a friendly Bark,

And they rowed him back and carried him up

To his Aunt Jobiska's Park.

And she made him a feast at his earnest wish,

Of eggs and buttercups fried with fish;
And she said, "It's a fact the whole world knows,
That Pobbles are happier without their toes."

Edward Lear.

THE NEW VESTMENTS

THERE lived an old man in the kingdom of Tess.
Who invented a purely original dress;
And when it was perfectly made and complete,
He opened the door and walked into the street.

By way of a hat he'd a loaf of Brown Bread,
In the middle of which he inserted his head;
His Shirt was made up of no end of dead Mice,
The warmth of whose skins was quite fluffy and nice;
His Drawers were of Rabbit-skins, so were his Shoes,
His Stockings were skins, but it is not known whose;
His Waistcoat and Trowsers were made of Pork Chops;
His Buttons were Jujubes and Chocolate Drops.

The New Vestments

His Coat was all Pancakes with Jam for a border,
And a girdle of Biscuits to keep it in order.
And he wore over all, as a screen from bad weather,

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A Cloak of green Cabbage leaves, stitched all together.

He had walked a short way, when he heard a great noise
Of all sorts of Beasticles, Birdlings and Boys;
And from every long street and dark lane in the town
Beasts, Birdles and Boys in a tumult rushed down.
Two Cows and a Calf ate his Cabbage leaf Cloak;
Four Apes seized his girdle which vanished like smoke;
Three Kids ate up half of his Pancaky Coat,
And the tails were devoured by an ancient He Goat.
An army of Dogs in a twinkling tore up his

Pork Waistcoat and Trowsers to give to their Puppies;
And while they were growling and mumbling the Chops
Ten Boys prigged the Jujubes and Chocolate Drops.
He tried to run back to his house, but in vain,
For scores of fat Pigs came again and again;
They rushed out of stables and hovels and doors,
They tore off his Stockings, his Shoes and his Drawers.
And now from the housetops with screechings descend
Striped, spotted, white, black and grey Cats without end;
They jumped on his shoulders and knocked off his hat,
When Crows, Ducks and Hens made a mincemeat of that.
They speedily flew at his sleeves in a trice

And utterly tore up his Shirt of dead Mice;

They swallowed the last of his Shirt with a squall,—
Whereon he ran home with no clothes on at all.
And he said to himself as he bolted the door,
"I will not wear a similar dress any more,
Any more, any more, any more, nevermore!"

Edward Lear.

THE TWO OLD BACHELORS

Two old Bachelors were living in one house;

One caught a Muffin, the other caught a Mouse.

Said he who caught the Muffin to him who caught the Mouse,
"This happens just in time, for we've nothing in the house,
Save a tiny slice of lemon and a teaspoonful of honey,
And what to do for dinner, since we haven't any money?
And what can we expect if we haven't any dinner

But to lose our teeth and eyelashes and keep on growing thinner?"

Said he who caught the Mouse to him who caught the Muffin, "We might cook this little Mouse if we only had some Stuffin'!

If we had but Sage and Onions we could do extremely well, But how to get that Stuffin' it is difficult to tell!"

And then those two old Bachelors ran quickly to the town And asked for Sage and Onions as they wandered up and

down;

They borrowed two large Onions, but no Sage was to be found

In the Shops or in the Market or in all the Gardens round.

But some one said, "A hill there is, a little to the north,
And to its purpledicular top a narrow way leads forth;
And there among the rugged rocks abides an ancient Sage,-
An earnest Man, who reads all day a most perplexing page.
Climb up and seize him by the toes,-all studious as he sits,-
And pull him down, and chop him into endless little bits!
Then mix him with your Onion (cut up likewise into scraps),
And your Stuffin' will be ready, and very good-perhaps."

And then those two old Bachelors, without loss of time,
The nearly purpledicular crags at once began to climb;
And at the top among the rocks, all seated in a nook,
They saw that Sage a-reading of a most enormous book.

Jabberwocky

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"You earnest Sage!" aloud they cried, "your book you've

read enough in!

We wish to chop you into bits and mix you into Stuffin'!"

But that old Sage looked calmly up, and with his awful book At those two Bachelors' bald heads a certain aim he took; And over crag and precipice they rolled promiscuous down,At once they rolled, and never stopped in lane or field or town;

And when they reached their house, they found (besides their want of Stuffin')

The Mouse had fled—and previously had eaten up the Muffin.

They left their home in silence by the once convivial door; And from that hour those Bachelors were never heard of more.

JABBERWOCKY

Edward Lear.

'TWAS brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought.
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!