16. Eletetephony

by Laura E. Richards

Once there was an elephant,

Who tried to use the telephant —

No! No! 1 mean an elephone

Who tried to use the telephone —

(Dear me! I am not certain quite

That even now I've got it right.)

Howe'er it was, he got his trunk

Entangled in the telephunk,

The more he tried to get it free,

The louder buzzed the telephee —

(I fear I'd better drop the song

Of elephop and telephong!)

[æ]

17. By Walter de la Mare

I, Alas, Alack!

Ann, Ann? He put up his mouth

Come quick as you can! And moaned "Alas I" —

There's a fish that talks Oh, most mournful,

In the frying-pan. "Alas, alack!"

Out of the fat, Then turned to the sizzling,

As clear as glass, And sank him back.

18. Shoes and Stockings

by A. A. Milne

There's a cavern in the mountain

where the old men meet

(Hammer, hammer, hammer...

Hammer, hammer, hammer...)

My lady is marrying her own true knight,

White her gown, and her veil is white,

But she must have slippers on her dainty feet.

Hammer, hammer, hammer...

Hammer.

There's a cottage by the river where the old wives meet

(Chatter, chatter, chatter...)

Chatter, chatter, chatter...)

My lady is going to her own true man,

Youth to youth, since the world began,

But she must have stockings on her dainty feet.

Chatter, chatter, chatter...

Chatter.

[o]

19The Frog

by Hilaire Belloc

Be kind and tender to the Frog,

And do not call him names,

As "Slimy skin" or "Polly-wog",

Or likewise "Ugly James",

Or "Gape-a-grin", or "Toad-gone-wrong",

Or "Billy Bandy-knees":

The Frog is justly sensitive

To epithets like these.

20. The Washing-up Song

by Elizabeth Gould

Sing a song of washing up,

Water hot as hot.

Cups and saucers, plates and spoons,

Dishes such a lot 1

Work the dish mop round and round,

Wash them clean as clean

Polish with a dry white cloth,

How busy we have been!

[u]

21. The Listening Woods

by Ida W. Benham

I looked at the shadowed mosses,

I looked at the nests o'erhead,

I looked at the small brook dreaming

Alone in its sandy bed.

22. A Logical Song

(or the Conjurer's reason for not getting money)

I would, if I could,

If I couldn't how could I?

I couldn't, without I could, could I?

Could you, without you could, could ye?

Could ye? could ye? Could you, without you could, could ye?

[Λ]

23. The Brook

by Alfred Tennyson

Grumbling, stumbling, Rustling, hustling,

Fumbling all the day, Bustling as it flows,

Fluttering, stuttering, That it how the brook talks,

Muttering away, bubbling as it goes.

24. Tugs by James S. Tippet

Chug! Puff! Chugl Busy harbor tugs,

Push, little tug. Like round water bugs,

Chugl Puffl Chug! Hurry here and there,

Pull, strong tug. Working everywhere.

25. A Lazy Thought by Eve Merriam

There go the grown-ups No wonder

To the office, Grown-ups

To the store. Won't grow up

Subway rush, Any more.

Traffic crash; It takes a lot

Hurry, scurry, Of slow

Worry, flurry. To grow.

[ә]

26. Dust of Snow

by Robert Frost

The way a crow Has given my heart

Shook down on me A change of mood

The dust of snow And saved some part

From a hemlock tree Of a day I have rued.

27. A Puzzling Question

by A.M.Pratt

Grandma says (though I don't know why)

That I am the apple of her eye;

Brother calls me- a dunce; Aunt Fan

Always says I'm her little man;

Father says I'm a reg'lar boy,

And mother calls me her pnde'n' joy.

Now this is what I should like to know —

How in the world a fellow can grow?

Who's a pride 'n' joy, an apple, a dunce,

A reg'lar boy and a man at once!