Nonsense Alphabet 1
By Edward Lear
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,
Nippity-nee,
To take up the sugar
To put in our tea.
s!
Nippity-nee!
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!