Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building Part 75

_o_ O was once a little owl, Owly, Prowly, Howly, Owly, Browny fowly, Little owl!

_p_ P was once a little pump, Pumpy, Slumpy, Flumpy, Pumpy, Dumpy, thumpy, Little pump!

_q_ Q was once a little quail, Quaily, Faily, Daily, Quaily, Stumpy-taily, Little quail!

_r_ R was once a little rose, Rosy, Posy, Nosy, Rosy, Blows-y, grows-y, Little rose!

_s_ S was once a little shrimp, Shrimpy, Nimpy, Flimpy, Shrimpy, Jumpy, jimpy, Little shrimp!

_t_ T was once a little thrush, Thrushy, Hushy, Bushy, Thrushy, Flitty, flushy, Little thrush!

_u_ U was once a little urn, Urny, Burny, Turny, Urny, Bubbly, burny, Little urn!

_v_ V was once a little vine, Viny, Winy, Twiny, Viny, Twisty-twiny, Little vine!

_w_ W was once a whale, Whaly, Scaly, Shaly, Whaly, Tumbly-taily, Mighty whale!

_x_ X was once a great king Xerxes, Xerxy, Perxy, Turxy, Xerxy, Linxy, lurxy, Great King Xerxes!

_y_ Y was once a little yew Yewdy, Fewdy, Crudy, Yewdy, Growdy, grewdy, Little yew!

_z_ Z was once a piece of zinc, Tinky, Winky, Blinky, Tinky, Tinkly minky, Piece of zinc!

THE APPLE PIE

A was an apple pie, B bit it; C cut it; D dealt it; E ate it; F fought for it; G got it; H had it; I inquired about it; J joined it; K kept it; L longed for it; M mourned for it; N nodded at it; O opened it; P peeped in it; Q quartered it; R ran for it; S stole it; T took it; U upset it; V viewed it; W wanted it; X, Y, Z, and amper-sand, All hoped for a piece in hand.

WHO'S WHO IN THE ZOO?

BY CAROLYN WELLS.

A is for the Antelope, A beast that I have never met; They say he jumps the skipping-rope And makes a charming household pet.

Well, as to that I cannot say; But A is for him, anyway.

B stands for Bajjerkeit; maybe You've never chanced this beast to see; So I'll describe him to you. Well, There isn't very much to tell.

One day I idly chanced to look Within a Natural History book, And there I saw his funny name, And thought I'd hand him down to fame.

C is for Codfish. He must be The saltest fish that swims the sea.

And, oh!

He has a secret woe!

You see, he thinks it's all his fault The ocean is so very salt!

And so, In hopeless grief and woe, The Codfish has, for many years, Shed quarts of salty, briny tears!

And, oh!

His tears still flow-- So great his grief and woe!

D stands for Dodo. He's a bird That isn't known to many; And this the reason, I have heard-- Because there aren't any!

The Dodo, who once blithely blinked, Is now exceedingly extinct, And doesn't it seem rather nice To think that D stands for him twice?

[Ill.u.s.tration: MARY MARY! QUITE CONTRARY.]

E is for Elephant. I know He isn't natty, trim, or trig; His eyes are rather small, and, oh, I fear his ears are far too big!

But there's a well-attested rumor That he has quite a sense of humor; So crack a joke whene'er you meet An Elephant upon the street.

F is Flamingo. All please note His wondrous height and girth; He has the longest legs and throat Of anything on earth.

Such throats are trying, are they not?

In case one catches cold; Ah, yes! but just think what a lot His Christmas stockings hold!

G stands for Gnu. Of course that's right, but then, It seems as if it _should_ begin with N.

I could select some other beast as well-- Say, Goose or Grampus, Gadfly or Gazelle; But seems to me the Gnu is more attractive, He is so merry, frivolous, and active.

H is for Hippopotamus.

If you desire a pet, He is, it really seems to us, The best that you can get.

Train him to follow at your heels Whene'er you walk abroad, And note with what delighted squeals The lookers-on applaud!

I is for Ibex. This fine creature Is favored well in form and feature.

And I is for Ichneumon, too-- But what is that to me or you?

But Ibex answers just as well, And isn't near so hard to spell.

J stands for Jay. This little fellow Is blue. Sometimes I think I'd like him better were he yellow, Or even reddish pink.

I know, of course, it is absurd To mind the color of a bird; And, now I think of it, I've seen Some Jays that were exceeding green.

K stands for Kangaroo. I've looked all round: A better beast for K cannot be found.

The Kangaroo can hop and hop and hop; Somehow he never seems to want to stop.

What more could one desire of him, I pray, Than just to hop around and stand for K?

L is for Leopard. Do you know He's very, very vain?

And sometimes quite dejectedly He mopes along the plain.

At these sad times the Leopard's heart Is filled with angry pa.s.sion, Because his spots are out of date, And Zebra stripes in fashion!

But other years, when fashion-books Say spots are all the style, The Leopard proudly stalks abroad With most complacent smile.

M is for Microbe. This bad beast Is very, very small; Some people say--or think, at least-- He isn't there at all!

He's smaller than the mitiest mite; The only way he comes in sight Is when he's pictured in a book, Or through a microbescope you look.

N is for Nautilus, and he's A pirate, bold and gay; He dashes madly through the seas, A-searching of his prey.

He's just a sort of silvery ma.s.s, All spotted blue and pink; And with his eye, which looks like gla.s.s, He winks a wicked wink.

O stands for the obsequious Ounce, Who weighs full many a pound; At you he playfully would bounce, If you were walking round.

Approach him and the Ounce you'll see Spring like a catapult; Just try it once, and you will be Surprised at the result.

P stands for Puma. His sleek paws Go softly pit-a-pat; His teeth are sharp, and sharp his claws; He's just a great big cat.

There were some Pumas in the ark; There are some also in the park: But, strange to say, in Montezuma They do not raise a single Puma!

Q stands for Quagga. We've been taught Nothing was ever made in vain; But even after serious thought The Quagga's use is not quite plain.

Though, stay!--ah, yes! at last I see Why the queer Quagga has to be: Were there no Quaggas, how would you Find any beast to stand for Q?