Volume 1 — NONSENSE ALPHABET
Reading edition
BY EDWARD LEAR
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 was a book With a binding of blue, And pictures and stories For me and for you. b Nice little book!
C was a camel; You rode on his hump; And if you fell off, You came down such a bump! c What a high camel!
D was a duck With spots on his back, Who lived in the water, And always said “Quack!” d Dear little duck!
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 was a fish Who was caught in a net; But he got out again, And is quite alive yet. f Lively young fish!
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 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 was some ice So white and so nice, But which nobody tasted; And so it was wasted. i All that good ice!
J was a jackdaw Who hopped up and down In the principal street Of a neighboring town. j All through the town!
K was a kite Which flew out of sight, Above houses so high, Quite into the sky. k Fly away, kite!
L was a light Which burned all the night, And lighted the gloom Of a very dark room. l Useful nice light!
M was a man, Who walked round and round; And he wore a long coat That came down to the ground. m Funny old man!
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 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 was a pig, Who was not very big, But his tail was too curly, And that made him surly. p Cross little pig!
Q was a quail With a very short tail; And he fed upon corn In the evening and morn. q Quaint little quail!
R was a rabbit, Who had a bad habit Of eating the flowers In gardens and bowers. r Naughty fat rabbit!
S was the sugar-tongs, Nippity-nee, To take up the sugar To put in our tea. s Nippity-nee!
T was a tortoise, All yellow and black: He walked slowly away, And he never came back. t Torty never came back!
U was an urn All polished and bright, And full of hot water At noon and at night. u Useful old urn!
V was a veil With a border upon it, And a ribbon to tie it All round a pink bonnet. v Pretty green veil!
W was a whale With a very long tail, Whose movements were frantic Across the Atlantic. w Monstrous old whale!
X was King Xerxes, Who, more than all Turks, is Renowned for his fashion Of fury and passion. x Angry old Xerxes.
Y was a yew, Which flourished and grew By a quiet abode Near the side of a road. y Dark little yew!
Z was a zebra, All striped white and black; And if he were tame, You might ride on his back. z Pretty striped zebra!