A side note – I know I am not the first person in the history of the world to move but I must be one of the last to ever get settled. Soon, I hope, to be back to more regular posting. Thanks for those who have written to check on me. So for Poetry Friday, a little nonesense seems to be in order.
THE POBBLE WHO HAS NO TOES
The Pobble who has no toes
Had once as many as we;
When they said “Some day you may lose them all;”
He replied “Fish, fiddle-de-dee!”
And his Aunt Jobiska made him drink
Lavender water tinged with pink,
For she said “The World in general knows
There’s nothing so good for a Pobble’s toes!”
The Pobble who has no toes
Swam across the Bristol Channel;
But before he set out he wrapped his nose
In a piece of scarlet flannel.
For his Aunt Jobiska said “No harm
Can come to his toes if his nose is warm;
And it’s perfectly known that a Pobble’s toes
Are safe, — provided he minds his nose!”
The Pobble swam fast and well,
And when boats or ships came near him,
He tinkledy-blinkledy-winkled a bell,
So that all the world could hear him.
And all the Sailors and Admirals cried,
When they saw him nearing the further side –
“He has gone to fish for his Aunt Jobiska’s
Runcible Cat with crimson whiskers!”
But before he touched the shore,
The shore of the Bristol Channel,
A sea-green porpoise carried away
His wrapper of scarlet flannel.
And when he came to observe his feet,
Formerly garnished with toes so neat,
His face at once became forlorn,
On perceiving that all his toes were gone!
And nobody ever knew,
From that dark day to the present,
Whoso had taken the Pobble’s toes,
In a manner so far from pleasant.
Whether the shrimps, or crawfish grey,
Or crafty Mermaids stole them away –
Nobody knew: and nobody knows
How the Pobble was robbed of his twice five toes!
The Pobble who has no toes
Was placed in a friendly Bark,
And they rowed him back, and carried him up
To his Aunt Jobiska’s Park.
And she made him a feast at his earnest wish
Of eggs and buttercups fried with fish, –
And she said “It’s a fact the whole world knows,
That Pobbles are happier without their toes!”
— Edward Lear
I love it!!!!
I’d never heard this one– thanks for sharing!
We all need an Aunt Jobiska.
I have mad, mad love for Edward. He’s one of those VIP guests I want to have at my time-travelling dinner party.
One of my very first Internet handles was The Lady Jingly Jones.
Thanks for sharing this. 🙂
Is “runcible” one of his made-up words? He uses it in “The Owl and the Pussycat,” too.
Even if you hadn’t told me, I’d have know that one was Lear — seems all his folks set to see (I put up The Courtship of the Yonghy Bonghy Bo a few weeks back.
Although since he “tinkledy-blinkledy-winkled” his bell, he sounded a bit like the Bellman from Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark.
Oh! The Pobble Who Has No Toes! You brought back cool memories!
I have an old PB that was given to my daughter when she was two. It’s called The Quangle Wangle’s Hat, written by Edward Lear and illustrated by Janet Stevens.
Bestselling Author’s Secrets for Writing Scenes: Tip #1
Hi,
Here’s Secret #1 of 12 tips for fiction writers from bestselling author Bonnie Hearn Hill on how to create, link and focus better scenes. Be sure you’ve added yourself as a friend to receive Bonnie’s next important step! Also, check out Bonnie’s online writing class at http://www.authorlink.com/classroom/classroom.php
SCENE CHECKLIST
The Big Twelve
Once you learn to create and link focused scenes, you will be well on your way to writing marketable fiction. Keep this list close to your computer to guide you through the process.
1. Who is the point-of-view character for this scene?
Note that every scene should be told through a POV character, although you can have more than one POV character in a book (but no more than you need). One reason for this focusing is so that we feel the character struggle with a scene goal. The struggle takes place through action and dialogue with little internalization/exposition.
A scene is a dramatic unit that includes scene goal, conflict (through action and dialogue) and resolution.
Doris Booth
Editor-in-Chief Authorlink.com
Manager, Authorlink Literary Group
dbooth@authorlink.com
(972) 650-1986
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