Did anybody else grow up reading The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear? I had a wonderful poetry book when I was a child with all sorts of fabulous poems and illustrations in it. This poem was one of many, but it was a standout.
Here’s how it goes:
The Owl and the Pussycat poem
The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
“O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are, you are, you are,
What a beautiful Pussy you are.”
Pussy said to the Owl “You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing.
O let us be married, too long we have tarried;
But what shall we do for a ring?”
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.
“Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling your ring?”
Said the Piggy, “I will”
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon.
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand.
They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.
Now here’s a YouTube video that puts the strange to it. I especially like the Owl looking like Peter Lorre and the good-natured punk pig.
Don’t you love it? Peter Lorre Owl and Barbie Cat? YOU’RE WELCOME!
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: What’s a nursery rhyme you remember from your childhood?
MA