If pigs could fly, I'd fly a pig
To foreign countries small and big —
To Italy and Spain,
To Austria, where cowbells ring,
To Germany, where people sing —
And then come home again.

I'd see the Ganges and the Nile;
I'd visit Madagaascar's isle,
And Persia and Peru.
Poeple would say they'd never seen
So odd, so strange an air-machine
As that on which I flew.

Why, everyone would raise a shout
To see his trotters and his snout
Come floating from the sky;
And I would be a famous star
Well known in countries near and far —
If only pigs could fly!

THE KING'S BREAKFAST

The King asked
The Queen, and
The Queen asked
The Dairymaid:
"Could we have some butter for
The Royal slice of bread?”
The Queen asked
The Dairymaid,
The Dairymaid
Said, "Certainly,
I’ll go and tell
The cow
Now
Before she goes to bed.”
The Dairymaid
She curtsied,
And went and told
The Alderney:
"Don’t forget the butter for
The Royal slice of bread.”
The Alderney
Said sleepily:
"You’d better tell
His majesty
That many people nowadays
Like marmalade
Instead.”

The Dairymaid
Said, "Fancy!”
And went to
Her Majesty.
She curtsied to the Queen, and
She turned a little red:
"Excuse me,
Your Majesty,
For taking of
The liberty,
But marmalade is tasty, if
It’s very
Thickly
Spread.”

The Queen said,
"Oh!”
And went to
His Majesty:
"Talking of the butter for
The Royal slice of bread,
Many people
Think that
Marmalade Is nicer.
Would you like to try a little
Marmalade Instead?”
The King said,
"Bother!”
And then he said,
"Oh, dear me!”
And went back to bed,
"Nobody,”
He whimpered,
"Could call me
A fussy man;
I only want
A little bit
Of butter for
My bread!”
The Queen said,
"There, there!”
And went to
The Dairymaid,
The Dairymaid
Said, "There, there!”
And went to the shed.
The cow said,
"There, there!
I didn’t really mean it;
Here’s milk for his porringer
And butter for his bread.”
The Queen took
The butter
And brought it to
His Majesty;
The King said,
"Butter, eh?”
And bounced out of bed.
"Nobody,” he said,
As he kissed her tenderly.
"Nobody,” he said,
As he slid down
The banisters,
"Nobody,
My darling,
Could call me
A fussy man —
BUT
I do like a little bit of butter to my bread”

TONY THE TURTLE

Tony was a Turtle,
Very much at ease,
Swimming in the sunshine
Through the summer seas,
And feeding on the fishes
Irrespective of their wishes,
With a "By your leave" and "Thank you"
And a gentlemanly squeeze.

Tony was a Turtle
Who loved a civil phrase:
Anxious and obliging,
Sensitive to praise.
And to hint that he was snappy
Made him thoroughly unhappy;
For Tony was a Turtle
With most engaging ways.

Tony was a Turtle
Who thought, before he fed,
of other people's comfort,
And as he ate them said:
"If I seem a little grumpy,
It is not that you are lumpy."
For Tony was a Turtle
Delicately bred.

GROWN UP

I’m growing up, my mother says —

Today she said I’d grown;

The reason why is this: Now I

Can do things all alone.

And though I’m glad that I don’t need

Someone to brush my hair

And wash my hands and face and button

Buttons everywhere,

Although I’m very glad indeed

To help myself instead,

I hope that I won’t have to try

TO TUCK MYSELF IN BED.

A LITTLE GIRL

There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead;
And when she was good,
She was very, very good,
But when she was bad she was horrid

THE FROST

He went to the windows of those who slept,
And over each pane like a fairy crept.
Wherever he breathed, wherever he slept,
By the light of the moon were seen
Most beautiful things: there were flowers and trees,
There were bevies of birds and swarms of bees,
There were cities with temples and towers, and these
All pictured in silver sheen.