Nonsense Songs, Stories and Alphabets (1871)

Z was a zebra,
All striped white and black;
And if he were tame,
You might ride on his back.

z!

Pretty striped Zebra!

Y was a yak,
From the land of Thibet:
Except his white tail,
He was all black as jet.

y!

Look at the Yak!

X was King Xerxes,
Who wore on his head A mighty large turban,
Green, yellow, and red.

x!

Look at King Xerxes!

W was a watch,
Where, in letters of gold,
The hour of the day
You might always behold.

w!

Beautiful watch!

V was a veil
With a border upon it,
And a ribbon to tie it
All round a pink bonnet.

v!

Pretty green Veil!

U was an upper-coat,
Woolly and warm,
To wear over all
In the snow or the storm.

u!

What a nice upper-coat!

T was a thimble,
Of silver so bright!
When placed on the finger,
It fitted so tight!

t!

Nice little thimble!

S was a screw
To screw down a box;
And then it was fastened
Without any locks.

s!

Valuable screw!

R was a rattlesnake,
Rolled up so tight,
Those who saw him ran quickly,
For fear he should bite.

r!

Rattlesnake bite!

Q was a quill
Made into a pen;
But I do not know where,
And I cannot say when.

q!

Nice little Quill!