Speak Roughly To Your Little Boy

And with that she began nursing her child again, singing a sort of lullaby to it as she did so, and giving it a violent shake at the end of every line:
"Speak roughly to your little boy,
And beat him when he sneezes;
He only does it to annoy,
Because he knows it teases."
CHORUS
(in which the cook and the baby joined): "Wow! wow! wow!"While the Duchess sang the second verse of the song, she kept tossing the baby violently up and down, and the poor little thing howled so, that Alice could hardly hear the words:
"I speak severely to my boy,
I beat him when he sneezes;
For he can thoroughly enjoy
The pepper when he pleases!"

CHORUS"Wow! wow! wow!"

Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll, born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was an English author, poet, and mathematician best known for his classic children's books 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' and 'Through the Looking-Glass.' A prominent figure in the literary world, Carroll's unique blend of logic, wordplay, and fantasy continues to captivate readers of all ages. His works have inspired countless adaptations in various media, cementing his legacy as a master of imaginative literature.

Lewis Carroll

Rules and Regulations

Lewis Carroll, Simple Poetry

Fit the Second - The Bellman's Speech

Lewis Carroll, Simple Poetry

Dedication

Lewis Carroll, Simple Poetry

Photography Extraordinary

Lewis Carroll, 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.

Booh!

On afternoons, when baby boy has had a splendid nap,
And sits, like any monarch on his throne, in nurse's lap,
In some such wise my handkerchief I hold before my face,
And cautiously and quietly I move about the place;
Then, with a cry, I suddenly expose my face to view,
And you should hear him laugh and crow when I say "Booh"!

Sometimes the rascal tries to make believe that he is scared,
And really, when I first began, he stared, and stared, and stared;
And then his under lip came out and farther out it came,
Till mamma and the nurse agreed it was a "cruel shame" -
But now what does that same wee, toddling, lisping baby do
But laugh and kick his little heels when I say "Booh!"

He laughs and kicks his little heels in rapturous glee, and then
In shrill, despotic t...

Eugene Field

You Are Old Father William

"You are old, father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head,
Do you think, at your age, it is right?

"In my youth," father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again."

"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before,
And you have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door,
Pray what is the reason for that?"

"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
"I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment, one shilling a box,
Allow me to sell you a couple?"

"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak...

Lewis Carroll

Phantasmagoria Canto VI ( Dyscomfyture )

As one who strives a hill to climb,
Who never climbed before:
Who finds it, in a little time,
Grow every moment less sublime,
And votes the thing a bore:

Yet, having once begun to try,
Dares not desert his quest,
But, climbing, ever keeps his eye
On one small hut against the sky
Wherein he hopes to rest:

Who climbs till nerve and force are spent,
With many a puff and pant:
Who still, as rises the ascent,
In language grows more violent,
Although in breath more scant:

Who, climbing, gains at length the place
That crowns the upward track.
And, entering with unsteady pace,
Receives a buffet in the face
That lands him on his back:

And feels himself, like one in sleep,
Glide swiftly down again,
A helpless weight,...

Lewis Carroll

Her Eyes Are Wild

I

Her eyes are wild, her head is bare,
The sun has burnt her coal-black hair;
Her eyebrows have a rusty stain,
And she came far from over the main.
She has a baby on her arm,
Or else she were alone:
And underneath the hay-stack warm,
And on the greenwood stone,
She talked and sung the woods among,
And it was in the English tongue.

II

"Sweet babe! they say that I am mad,
But nay, my heart is far too glad;
And I am happy when I sing
Full many a sad and doleful thing:
Then, lovely baby, do not fear!
I pray thee have no fear of me;
But safe as in a cradle, here,
My lovely baby! thou shalt be:
To thee I know too much I owe;
I cannot work thee any woe.

III

"A fire was once within my brain;
And in ...

William Wordsworth

Alphabet, No. 6.

tumbled down, and hurt his Arm, against a bit of wood,

said. "My Boy, oh, do not cry; it cannot do you good!"

said, "A Cup of Coffee hot can't do you any harm."

said, "A Doctor should be fetched, and he would cure the arm."

said, "An Egg beat up with milk would quickly make him well."

said, "A Fish, if broiled, might cure, if only by the smell."

said, "Green Gooseberry fool, the best of cures I hold."

Edward Lear

Father William

"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head,
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"

"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again."

"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door,
Pray, what is the reason of that?"

"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
"I kept all my limbs very supple
By the use of this ointment,one shilling the box,
Allow me to sell you a couple?"

"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak

Lewis Carroll