Mary Had A Little Frog

Mary had a little frog
And it was water-soaked,
But Mary did not keep it long
Because, of course, it croaked!

Ellis Parker Butler

Ellis Parker Butler was an American author, humorist, and poet, best known for his short story 'Pigs Is Pigs.' Born on December 5, 1869, in Muscatine, Iowa, Butler became a prolific writer, contributing to numerous magazines and books over his career. He is remembered for his wit and humor, which marked his work. Butler passed away on September 13, 1937.

Ellis Parker Butler

The Romance Of Patrolman Casey

Ellis Parker Butler, Simple Poetry

A Scotchman Whose Name Was Isbister

Ellis Parker Butler, Simple Poetry

Jabed Meeker, Humorist

Ellis Parker Butler, Simple Poetry

Why I Went To The Foot

Ellis Parker Butler, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

The Frog Who Would A Wooing Go

A Frog he would a-wooing go,
Whether his mother would let him or no.

Off he set with his opera-hat.
On the road he met with a Rat.


"Pray, Mr. Rat, will you go with me,
Kind Mrs. Mousey for to see?"

They soon arrived at Mousey's hall.
They gave a loud tap, and they gave a loud call.


"Pray, Mrs. Mouse, are you within?"
"Yes, kind sirs, and sitting to spin."

"Pray, Mrs. Mouse, now give us some beer,
That Froggy and I may have good cheer."



"Pray, Mr. Frog, will you give us a song?
Let the subject be something that's not very long."

"Indeed, Mrs. Mouse," replied the Frog,
"A cold has made me as hoarse as a hog."

"Since you have caught cold, Mr. Frog," Mousey said,
"I'll sing you a song tha...

Charles Henry Bennett

Little Mary's Linnet. (From The Villager's Verse-Book.)

Dear Mary, if thy little bird
Should, all the winter long,
Pleased from the window to be heard,
Repay thee with a song;

A lesson let it still convey
To all with sense endued;
And such the voice, oh! let it say,
The still small voice of love.

William Lisle Bowles

The Frog

Be kind and tender to the Frog,
And do not call him names,
As "Slimy skin," or "Polly-wog,"
Or likewise "Ugly James,"
Or "Gap-a-grin," or "Toad-gone-wrong,"
Or "Bill Bandy-knees":
The Frog is justly sensitive
To epithets like these.

No animal will more repay
A treatment kind and fair;
At least so lonely people say
Who keep a frog (and, by the way,
They are extremely rare).

Hilaire Belloc

The Boy Next Door

I.

There's a boy who lives next door;
And this boy is just as bad
As a boy can be; and poor!
He's so poor it makes me sad
When I see him. Out at knee;
And no shoes; and, more than that,
Hardly any shirt or hat.
He's as poor as Poverty.

II.

But I like him; yes, I do.
He can play 'most any game,
And tell fairy stories, too;
Funny stories, just the same
As my father does. And he
Told me one about a frog,
Living near a lake or bog,
Frog that married a bumblebee.

III.

And another of Jumping Joan
And Hink Minx, the old witch that
Sits before the fire alone
Frying fat for her black cat.
And of Craney Crow; her dog
And her chicken. But the best,
One I like more than the rest,
'S that one o...

Madison Julius Cawein

Ye Frog's Wooing

1.

It was the frog lived in the well,
Heigh-ho! says Rowley;
And the merry mouse under the mill,
With a Rowley, Powley, Gammon, and Spinach,
Heigh-ho! says Anthony Rowley.

2.

The frog he would a-wooing ride, Heigh-ho, &c.
Sword and buckler at his side, With a, &c.

3.

When upon his high horse set, Heigh-ho, &c.
His boots they shone as black as jet, With a, &c.

4.

When he came to the merry mill-pin, Heigh-ho, &c.
"Lady Mouse, are you within?" With a, &c.

5.

Then came out the dusty mouse, Heigh-ho, &c.
"I am the lady of this house," With a, &c.

6.

"Hast thou any mind of me?" Heigh-ho, &c.
"I have e'en great mind of thee," With a, &c.
...

Walter Crane

Mary's Bonnet.

Have yo seen awr Mary's bonnet?
It's a stunner, - noa mistak!
Ther's a bunch o' rooasies on it,
An a feather daan her back.
Yollo ribbons an fine laces,
An a cock-a-doodle-doo,
An raand her bonny face is
A string o' pooasies blue.

When shoo went to church last Sundy,
Th' parson could'nt find his text;
An fat old Mistress Grundy
Sed, "A'a, Mary! pray what next!"
Th' lads wink'd at one another, -
Th' lasses snikered i' ther glee,
An th' whooal o'th' congregation
Had her bonnet i' ther ee.

Sooin th' singers started singin,
But they braik daan one bi one,
For th' hymn wor on "The flowers
Of fifty summers gone."
But when they saw awr Mary,
They made a mullock on it,
For they thowt 'at all them flaars
Had been put on Ma...

John Hartley