An Index of First Lines
Reading edition
Nonsense Alphabets Nonsense Botanies Nonsense Songs and Stories Table of Contents
A tumbled down,
A was an Area Arch
A was an ant
A was an ape,
A was once an apple-pie,
The Absolutely Abstemious Ass,
B said. "My Boy, oh, do not cry;
B was a Bottle blue,
B was a bat,
B was a book
B was once a little bear,
The Bountiful Beetle,
The Broom and the Shovel, the Poker and Tongs,
C said, "A Cup of Coffee hot
C was Papa's gray Cat,
C was a camel:
C was a cat
C was once a little cake,
Calico pie, the little birds fly
The Comfortable Confidential Cow,
D said, "A Doctor should be fetched,
D was Papa's white Duck,
D was a dove,
D was a duck
D was once a little doll,
The Dolomphious Duck,
E said, "An Egg beat up with milk
E was a little Egg,
E was an eagle,
E was an elephant,
E was once a little eel,
The Enthusiastic Elephant,
The Excellent Double-extra XX
F said, "A Fish, if broiled, might cure,
F was a fan
F was a fish
F was a little Fish.
F was once a little fish,
The Fizzgiggious Fish,
G said, "Green Gooseberry fool,
G was Papa's new Gun;
G was a goat
G was a gooseberry,
G was once a little goose,
The Good-natured Grey Gull,
H said, "His Hat should be kept on,
H was Papa's new Hat;
H was a hat
H was a heron,
H was once a little hen,
The Hasty Higgeldipiggledy Hen,
"How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!"
I said, "Some Ice upon his head
I was an Inkstand new,
I was an inkstand,
I was once a bottle of ink
I was some ice
In former days,that is to say, once upon a time,there lived in the Land of Gramble-Blamble seven families.
The Inventive Indian,
J said, "Some Jam, if spread on bread,
J was a jackdaw
J was a jug,
J was once a jar of jam,
J was some Apple Jam,
The Judicious Jubilant Jay,
K said, "A Kangaroo is here,—
K was a great new Kite;
K was a kingfisher:
K was a kite
K was once a little kite,
The Kicking Kangaroo,
King and Queen of the Pelicans we;
L said, "A Lamp pray keep alight,
L was a fine new Lamp;
L was a light
L was a lily,
L was once a little lark,
The Lively Learned Lobster,
M said, "A Mulberry or two
M was a dish of mince;
M was a man,
M was a mill
M was once a little mouse,
The Melodious Meritorious Mouse,
Mr. and Mrs. Discobbolos
The Nutcrackers sate by a plate on the table;
The Nutritious Newt,
O said, "An Owl might make him laugh,
O was an orange
O was an oyster,
O was an Owl who flew
O was once a little owl,
The Obsequious Ornamental Ostrich,
On a little piece of wood,
On the Coast of Coromandel
On the top of the Crumpetty Tree
Once Mr. Daddy Long-legs,
Once upon a time, a long while ago, there were four little people whose names were Violet, Slingsby, Guy, and Lionel;
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
P said, "Some Poetry might be read aloud,
P was a little Pig,
P was a pig,
P was a polly,
P was once a little pump,
The Perpendicular Purple Polly,
The Pobble who has no toes
Q said, "A Quince I recommend,—
Q was a Quince that hung
Q was a quail
Q was a quill
Q was once a little quail,
The Queer Querulous Quail,
R said, "Some Rats might make him move,
R was a Railway Rug
R was a rabbit,
R was a rattlesnake,
R was once a little rose,
The Rural Runcible Raven,
S said, "A Song should now be sung,
S was Papa's new Stick,
S was once a little shrimp,
S was a screw
S was the sugar-tongs,
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo,
Said the Table to the Chair,
The Scroobious Snake,
She sate upon her Dobie,
T said, "A Turnip might avail,
T was a thimble,
T was a tortoise,
T was a tumbler full
T was once a little thrush,
There is a young lady, whose nose,
There lived an old man in the Kingdom of Tess,
There was a Young Girl of Majorca,
There was a Young Lady of Bute,
There was a Young Lady of Clare,
There was a Young Lady of Dorking,
There was a Young Lady of Hull,
There was a Young Lady of Lucca,
There was a Young Lady of Norway,
There was a Young Lady of Parma,
There was a Young Lady of Poole,
There was a Young Lady of Portugal,
There was a Young Lady of Russia,
There was a Young Lady of Ryde,
There was a Young Lady of Sweden,
There was a Young Lady of Troy,
There was a Young Lady of Turkey,
There was a Young Lady of Tyre,
There was a Young Lady of Wales,
There was a Young Lady of Welling,
There was a Young Lady whose bonnet
There was a Young Lady whose chin
There was a Young Lady whose eyes
There was a Young Lady whose nose
There was a Young Person of Crete,
There was a Young Person of Smyrna,
There was a young lady in blue,
There was a young lady in white,
There was a young lady of Corsica,
There was a young lady of Firle,
There was a young lady of Greenwich,
There was a young person in green,
There was a young person in pink,
There was a young person in red,
There was a young person of Ayr,
There was a young person of Bantry,
There was a young person of Janina,
There was a young person of Kew,
There was a young person whose history
There was an Old Derry down Derry,
There was an Old Lady of Chertsey,
There was an Old Lady of Prague,
There was an Old Lady whose folly
There was an Old Man at a Junction,
There was an Old Man in a boat,
There was an Old Man in a casement,
There was an Old Man in a pew,
There was an Old Man in a tree,
There was an Old Man of Aôsta
There was an Old Man of Apulia,
There was an Old Man of Berlin,
There was an Old Man of Bohemia,
There was an Old Man of Calcutta,
There was an Old Man of Cape Horn,
There was an Old Man of Coblenz,
There was an Old Man of Columbia,
There was an Old Man of Corfu,
There was an Old Man of Dundee,
There was an Old Man of Jamaica,
There was an Old Man of Kamschatka,
There was an Old Man of Kilkenny,
There was an Old Man of Leghorn,
There was an Old Man of Madras,
There was an Old Man of Marseilles,
There was an Old Man of Melrose,
There was an Old Man of Moldavia,
There was an Old Man of Nepaul,
There was an Old Man of Peru,
There was an Old Man of Peru.
There was an Old Man of Quebec,—
There was an Old Man of Vesuvius,
There was an Old Man of Vienna,
There was an Old Man of Whitehaven,
There was an Old Man of th' Abruzzi,
There was an Old Man of the Cape,
There was an Old Man of the Coast,
There was an Old Man of the Dee,
There was an Old Man of the East,
There was an Old Man of the Hague,
There was an Old Man of the Isles,
There was an Old Man of the Nile,
There was an Old Man of the North,
There was an Old Man of the South,
There was an Old Man of the West,
There was an Old Man of the West,
There was an Old Man of the Wrekin,
There was an Old Man on a hill,
There was an Old Man on some rocks,
There was an Old Man on whose nose
There was an Old Man who said, "How
There was an Old Man who said, "Hush!
There was an Old Man who said, "Well!
There was an Old Man who supposed
There was an Old Man with a beard,
There was an Old Man with a beard,
There was an Old Man with a flute,—
There was an Old Man with a gong,
There was an Old Man with a nose,
There was an Old Man with a poker,
There was an Old Man with an Owl,
There was an Old Person of Anerley,
There was an Old Person of Bangor,
There was an Old Person of Basing,
There was an Old Person of Buda,
There was an Old Person of Burton,
There was an Old Person of Cadiz,
There was an Old Person of Cheadle
There was an Old Person of Chester,
There was an Old Person of Chili,
There was an Old Person of Dover,
There was an Old Person of Dutton,
There was an Old Person of Ems
There was an Old Person of Ewell,
There was an Old Person of Gretna,
There was an Old Person of Hurst,
There was an Old Person of Ischia,
There was an Old Person of Leeds,
There was an Old Person of Mold,
There was an Old Person of Philœ,
There was an Old Person of Prague,
There was an Old Person of Rheims,
There was an Old Person of Rhodes,
There was an Old Person of Spain,
There was an Old Person of Sparta,
There was an Old Person of Tartary,
There was an Old Person of Tring,
There was an Old Person of Troy,
There was an Old Person whose habits
There was an old Lady of Winchelsea,
There was an old Man in a Garden,
There was an old Person of Cromer,
There was an old lady of France,
There was an old man at a Station,
There was an old man in a Marsh,
There was an old man in a barge,
There was an old man in a tree,
There was an old man of Ancona,
There was an old man of Blackheath,
There was an old man of Boulak,
There was an old man of Cashmere,
There was an old man of Dee-side
There was an old man of Dumblane,
There was an old man of Dumbree,
There was an old man of Dunluce,
There was an old man of Dunrose;
There was an old man of El Hums,
There was an old man of Hong Kong,
There was an old man of Ibreem,
There was an old man of Messina,
There was an old man of Port Grigor,
There was an old man of Spithead,
There was an old man of Thames Ditton,
There was an old man of Thermopylae,
There was an old man of Three Bridges,
There was an old man of Toulouse
There was an old man of West Dumpet,
There was an old man of the Dargle
There was an old man on the Border,
There was an old man on the Humber,
There was an old man who screamed out
There was an old man whose despair
There was an old man whose remorse
There was an old man, who when little
There was an old person in black,
There was an old person in gray,
There was an old person of Bar,
There was an old person of Barnes,
There was an old person of Blythe,
There was an old person of Bow,
There was an old person of Bray,
There was an old person of Bree,
There was an old person of Brigg,
There was an old person of Brill,
There was an old person of Bromley,
There was an old person of Bude,
There was an old person of Cannes,
There was an old person of Cassel,
There was an old person of China,
There was an old person of Crowle,
There was an old person of Deal,
There was an old person of Dean
There was an old person of Down,
There was an old person of Dundalk,
There was an old person of Ealing,
There was an old person of Fife,
There was an old person of Filey,
There was an old person of Florence,
There was an old person of Grange,
There was an old person of Hove,
There was an old person of Hyde,
There was an old person of Ickley,
There was an old person of Jodd,
There was an old person of Loo,
There was an old person of Minety,
There was an old person of Newry,
There was an old person of Nice,
There was an old person of Pett,
There was an old person of Pinner,
There was an old person of Pisa,
There was an old person of Putney,
There was an old person of Rimini,
There was an old person of Rye,
There was an old person of Sark,
There was an old person of Sestri,
There was an old person of Sheen,
There was an old person of Shields,
There was an old person of Shoreham,
There was an old person of Skye,
There was an old person of Slough,
There was an old person of Stroud,
There was an old person of Ware,
There was an old person of Wick,
There was an old person of Wilts,
There was an old person of Woking,
They went to sea in a sieve, they did;
The Tumultuous Tom-tommy Tortoise,
Two old Bachelors were living in one house;
U said, "An Urn, with water hot
U was a silver urn,
U was an upper-coat,
U was an urn
U was once a little urn,
The Umbrageous Umbrella-maker,
V said, "I'll stand upon a chair,
V was a veil
V was a Villain; once
V was a villa
V was once a little vine,
The Visibly Vicious Vulture,
W said, "Some Whisky-Whizzgigs fetch,
W was a Watch of Gold:
W was a watch,
W was a whale
W was once a whale,
When awful darkness and silence reign
Who, or why, or which, or what
The Worrying Whizzing Wasp,
X said, "Some double XX ale
X was King Xerxes, whom
X was King Xerxes,
X was King Xerxes,
X was once a great king Xerxes,
Y said, "Some Yeast mixed up with salt
Y was a yak,
Y was a yew,
Y was a Youth, who kicked
Y was once a little yew,
The Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo,
Z said, "Here is a box of Zinc!
Z was a Zebra striped
Z was a zebra,
Z was once a piece of zinc,
Z was some zinc,
The Zigzag Zealous Zebra,