The Owl and the Pussy-Cat
By Edward Lear
Annotations by Will Smith
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money Wrapped up in a five-pound note. The Owl looked up to moon above, And sang to a small guitar, "O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love! What a beautiful Pussy you are,— You are! What a beautiful Pussy you are!" Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl! How wonderful sweet you sing! O let us be married—too long we have tarried,— But what shall we do for a ring?" They sailed away for a year and a day To the land where the Bong-tree grows,[1] And there in a wood, a piggy-wig stood With a ring in the end of his nose,— His nose, With a ring in the end of his nose.
"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling Your ring?" Said the piggy, "I will." So they took it away, and were married the next day By the turkey who lives on the hill. They dined on mince and slices of quince, Which they ate with a runcible spoon,[2] And hand in hand on the edge of the sand They danced by the light of the moon,— The moon, They danced by the light of the moon.
Lear, Edward. “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat.” OUR YOUNG FOLKS: AN ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE FOR BOYS AND GIRLS 6, no. 2 (February 1870): 111-12.
[1] An evergreen tropical tree typically found in Asian countries like the Philippines and Vietnam
[2] This is the first usage of the term runcible spoon. It is also typically called a spork.
Contexts
“The Owl and the Pussy-Cat” is a popular poem that, in addition to this printing in Our Young Folks, composers, musicians, animators, and even a former member of Monty Python have adapted. Originally published in Lear’s Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets, Lear composed the poem for the three-year-old daughter of his friend John Addington Symonds. Lear had partially composed a sequel to this poem titled “The Children of the Owl and the Pussy-Cat;” it began to explore the hybrid bird-beast children of the two animals after their mother’s death.
Resources for Further Study
- The Quite Remarkable Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat – A sequel to the poem written by former Monty Python member Eric Idle.
- “The Children of the Owl and the Pussy-Cat” – The partially written sequel begun by Lear.