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V
Said Mr. Daddy Long-legs,“I can never sing again!And if you wish, I’ll tell you why,Although it gives me pain.For years I cannot hum a bit,Or sing the smallest song;And this the dreadful reason is,My legs are grown too long!My six long legs, all here and there,Oppress my bosom with despair;And if I stand, or lie, or sit,I cannot sing one single bit!” VI
So Mr. Daddy Long-legsAnd Mr. Floppy FlySat down in silence by the sea,And gazed upon the sky.They said, “This is a dreadful thing!The world has all gone wrong,Since one has legs too short by half,The other much too long!One never more can go to court,Because his legs have grown too short;The other cannot sing a song,Because his legs have grown too long!”VII
Then Mr. Daddy Long-legsAnd Mr. Floppy FlyRushed downward to the foamy seaWith one sponge-taneous cry;And there they found a little boat,Whose sails were pink and grey;And off they sailed among the waves,Far, and far away,They sailed across the silent main,And reached the great Gromboolian plain;And there they play for evermoreAt battlecock and shuttledoor.Mr. and Mrs. Spikky Sparrow
I
On a little piece of wood,Mr. Spikky Sparrow stood;Mrs. Sparrow sate close by,A-making of an insect pie,For her little children five,In the nest and all alive,Singing with a cheerful smileTo amuse them all the while,Twikky wikky wikky wee,Wikky bikky twikky tee,Spikky bikky bee! II
Mrs. Spikky Sparrow said,“Spikky, Darling! in my headMany thoughts of trouble come,Like to flies upon a plum!All last night, among the trees,I heard you cough, I heard you sneeze;And, thought I, it’s come to thatBecause he does not wear a hat!Chippy wippy sikky tee!Bikky wikky tikky mee!Spikky chippy wee!III
Not that you are growing old,But the nights are growing cold.No one stays out all nights longWithout a hat: I’m sure it’s wrong!”Mr. Spikky said, “How kind,Dear! you are, to speak your mind!All your life I wish you luck!You are! you are! a lovely duck!Witchy witchy witchy wee!Twitchy witchy witchy bee!Tikky tikky tee! IV
I was also sad, and thinking,When one day I saw you winking,And I heard you sniffle-snuffle,And I saw your feathers ruffle;To myself I sadly said,She’s neuralgia in er head!That dear head has nothing on it!Ought she not to wear a bonnet?Witchy kitchy kitchy wee?Spikky wikky mikky bee?Chippy wippy chee?V
Let us both fly up to town!There I’ll buy you such a gown!Which, completely in the fashion,You shall tie a sky-blue sash on.And a pair of slippers neat,To fit your darling little feet,So that you will look and feelQuite galloobious and genteel!Jikky wikky bikky see,Chicky bikky wikky bee,Twicky witchy wee!” VI
So they both to London went,Alighting on the Monument,Whence they flew down swiftly—pop,Into Moses’ wholesale shop;There they bought a hat and bonnet,And a gown with spots upon it,A satin sash of Cloxam blue,And a pair of slippers too.Zikky wikky mikky bee,Witchy witchy mitchy kee,Sikky tikky wee.VII
Then when so completely drest,Back they flew, and reached their nest.Their children cried, “O Ma and Pa!How truly beautiful you are!”Said they, “We trust that cold or painWe shall never feel again!While, perched on tree, or house, or steeple,We now shall look like other people.Witchy witchy witchy wee,Twikky mikky bikky bee,Zikky sikky tee.” The Pelican chorus
The Table and the Chair
I
Said the Table to the Chair,“You can hardly be aware,How I suffer from the heat,And from chilblains on my feet!If we took a little walk,We might have a little talk!Pray let us take the air!”Said the Table to the Chair.II
Said the Chair unto the Table,“Now you Know we are not able!How foolishly you talk,When you know we cannot walk!”Said the Table, with a sigh,“It can do no harm to try,I’ve as many legs as you,Why can’t we walk on two?” III
So they both went slowly down,And walked about the townWith a cheerful bumpy sound,As they toddled round and round.And everybody cried,As they hastened to their side,“See! the Table and the ChairHave come out to take the air!”IV
But in going down an alley,To a castle in a valley,They completely lost their way,And wandered all the day,Till, to see them safely back,They paid a Ducky-quack,And a Beetle, and a Mouse,Who took them to their house. V
Then they whispered to each other,“O delightful little brother!What a lovely walk we’ve taken!Let us dine on Beans and Bacon!”So the Ducky, and the leetleBrowny-Mousy and the BeetleDined, and danced upon their heads,Till they toddled to their beds.The Broom, the Shovel, the Poker, and the Tongs
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