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Nonsense Alphabet

by Edward Lear, 1846

A


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


B was a book
With a binding of blue,
And pictures and stories
For me and for you.


b

Nice little book!

*


C


C was a cat
Who ran after a rat;
But his courage did fail
When she seized on his tail.


c

Crafty old cat!

*


D


D was a duck
With spots on his back,
Who lived in the water,
And always said "Quack!"


d

Dear little duck!

*


E


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


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


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


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


I was some ice
So white and so nice,
But which nobody tasted;
And so it was wasted.


i

All that good ice!

*


J


J was a jackdaw
Who hopped up and down
In the principal street
Of a neighboring town.


j

All through the town!

*


K


K was a kite
Which flew out of sight,
Above houses so high,
Quite into the sky.


k

Fly away, kite!

*


L


L was a light
Which burned all the night,
And lighted the gloom
Of a very dark room.


l

Useful nice light!

*


M


M was a mill
Which stood on a hill,
And turned round and round
With a loud hummy sound.


m

Useful old mill!

*


N


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


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


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


Q was a quail
With a very short tail;
And he fed upon corn
In the evening and morn.


q

Quaint little quail!

*


R


R was a rabbit,
Who had a bad habit
Of eating the flowers
In gardens and bowers.


r

Naughty fat rabbit!

*


S


S was the sugar-tongs,
sippity-see,
To take up the sugar
To put in our tea.


s

sippity-see!

*


T


T was a tortoise,
All yellow and black:
He walked slowly away,
And he never came back.


t

Torty never came back!

*


U


U was an urn
All polished and bright,
And full of hot water
At noon and at night.


u

Useful old urn!

*


V


V was a villa
Which stood on a hill,
By the side of a river,
And close to a mill.


v

Nice little villa!

*


W


W was a whale
With a very long tail,
Whose movements were frantic
Across the Atlantic.


w

Monstrous old whale!

*


X


X was King Xerxes,
Who, more than all Turks, is
Renowned for his fashion
Of fury and passion.


x

Angry old Xerxes!

*


Y


Y was a yew,
Which flourished and grew
By a quiet abode
Near the side of a road.


y

Dark little yew!

*


Z


Z was some zinc,
So shiny and bright,
Which caused you to wink
In the sun's merry light.


z

Beautiful zinc!

Tags: animals, for children, school

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