Book of Nonsense | Page 3

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BOOK OF NONSENSE
by EDWARD LEAR
There was an Old Derry down Derry,
Who loved to see little folks
merry;
So he made them a Book,
And with laughter they shook,

At the fun of that Derry down Derry!
TO THE GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN,
GRAND-NEPHEWS,
AND GRAND-NIECES
OF EDWARD, 13th EARL OF DERBY,
THIS BOOK OF DRAWINGS AND VERSES
(The greater part of which were originally
made and composed for
their parents,)
IS DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR,
EDWARD LEAR
1.
There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, "It is just as I
feared!--
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all
built their nests in my beard!"
2.
There was a Young Lady of Ryde,
Whose shoe-strings were seldom
untied;
She purchased some clogs,
And some small spotty dogs,

And frequently walked about Ryde.
3.
There was an Old Man with a nose,
Who said, "If you choose to
suppose,
That my nose is too long,
You are certainly wrong!"

That remarkable Man with a nose.

4.
There was an Old Man on a hill,
Who seldom, if ever, stood still;

He ran up and down,
In his Grandmother's gown,
Which adorned
that Old Man on a hill.
5.
There was a Young Lady whose bonnet,
Came untied when the birds
sate upon it;
But she said, "I don't care!
All the birds in the air
Are
welcome to sit on my bonnet!"
6.
There was a Young Person of Smyrna,
Whose Grandmother
threatened to burn her;
But she seized on the Cat,
And said,
"Granny, burn that!
"You incongruous Old Woman of Smyrna!"
7.
There was an Old Person of Chili,
Whose conduct was painful and
silly;
He sate on the stairs,
Eating apples and pears,
That
imprudent Old Person of Chili.
8.
There was an Old Man with a gong,
Who bumped at it all the day
long;
But they called out, "O law!
You"re a horrid old bore!"
So
they smashed that Old Man with a gong.
9.
There was an Old Lady of Chertsey,
Who made a remarkable curtsey;

She twirled round and round,
Till she sunk underground,
Which
distressed all the people of Chertsey.
10.

There was an Old Man in a tree,
Who was horribly bored by a Bee;

When they said, "Does it buzz?"
He replied, "Yes, it does!
"It's a
regular brute of a Bee!"
11.
There was an Old Man with a flute,
A sarpint ran into his boot;
But
he played day and night,
Till the sarpint took flight,
And avoided
that man with a flute.
12.
There was a Young Lady whose chin,
Resembled the point of a pin:

So she had it made sharp,
And purchased a harp,
And played
several tunes with her chin.
13.
There was an Old Man of Kilkenny,
Who never had more than a
penny;
He spent all that money,
In onions and honey,
That
wayward Old Man of Kilkenny.
14.
There was an Old Person of Ischia,
Whose conduct grew friskier and
friskier;
He danced hornpipes and jigs,
And ate thousands of figs,

That lively Old Person of Ischia.
15.
There was an Old Man in a boat,
Who said, "I'm afloat! I'm afloat!"

When they said, "No! you ain't!"
He was ready to faint,
That
unhappy Old Man in a boat.
16.
There was a Young lady of Portugal,
Whose ideas were excessively

nautical;
She climbed up a tree,
To examine the sea,
But declared
she would never leave Portugal.
17.
There was an Old Man of Moldavia,
Who had the most curious
behaviour;
For while be was able,
He slept on a table,
That funny
Old Man of Moldavia
18.
There was an Old Man of Madras,
Who rode on a cream-coloured ass;

But the length of its ears,
So promoted his fears,
That it killed
that Old Man of Madras.
19.
There was an Old Person of Leeds,
Whose head was infested with
beads;
She sat on a stool,
And ate gooseberry fool,
Which agreed
with that person of Leeds.
20.
There was an Old Man of Peru,
Who never knew what he should do;

So he tore off his hair,
And behaved like a bear,
That intrinsic
Old Man of Peru.
21.
There was an Old Person of Hurst,
Who drank when he was not
athirst;
When they said, "You'll grow fatter,"
He answered, "What
matter?"
That globular Person of Hurst.
22.
There was a Young person of Crete,
Whose toilette was far from
complete;
She dressed in a sack,
Spickle-speckled with black,


That ombliferous person of Crete.
23.
There was an Old Man of the Isles,
Whose face was pervaded with
smiles;
He sung high dum diddle,
And played on the fiddle,
That
amiable Man of the Isles.
24.
There was an Old Person of Buda,
Whose conduct grew ruder and
ruder;
Till at last, with a hammer,
They silenced his clamour,
By
smashing that Person of Buda
25.
There was an Old Man of Columbia,
Who was thirsty, and called out
for some beer;
But they brought it quite hot,
In a small copper pot,

Which disgusted that man of Columbia.
26.
There was a young Lady of Dorking,
Who bought a large bonnet for
walking;
But its colour and size,
So bedazzled