The Owl and the Pussy-Cat | Edward Lear
by Elouise
Time for a mid-week break and a bit of nostalgia! Were you treated to this poem when you were a child? My father used to recite it from his phenomenal memory. Of course the entire poem is non-sense, given the history of cats and birds! But then again, we can always dream, can’t we? See below for the text.
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat
By Edward LearThe Owl and the Pussy-cat 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.
I think I’ll read this to Smudge tonight!
Elouise♥
© Elouise Renich Fraser, 25 March 2020
Video found on YouTube
Oh Elouise. Nostalgia! That poem always gives me the one memory. At my age – about the same as you- I smile with a bit of sadness as I look back.
I was in grade 6. I was not fond of the teacher and he made me and the one boy in the class I ‘tried to ignore’ sit on his table (Which was the boat) in front of all the class and try to act out that poem. I was mortified.
Now many years later I have met the teacher. It was his first year of teaching and of course does not remember. He is now in his 80s.
I have a feeling that the boy was possibly very nice but of a different faith which in those days was ‘verboten’. That is the sad part for me. I had not learnt to really see the real person of whatever faith. How can we show the love of our Saviour if we don’t, like He did, treat people with love and respect.
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What a wonderful comment on your painful memory. Yes, we must learn to see across boundaries. Everyone is carrying a heavy load. I also know I would have been just as mortified as you were at that tender age, and for similar reasons. I’m so grateful to be where I am today, thanks to others who reached out to me with love and respect. Thank you, Robin!
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