Nonsense Songs, Stories and Alphabets (1871)

I was some ice
So white and so nice,
But which nobody tasted;
And so it was wasted.

i

All that good ice!

H was a hat
Which was all on one side;
Its crown was too high,
And its brim was too wide.

h

Oh, what a hat!

G was a goat
Who was spotted with brown:
When he did not lie still
He walked up and down.

g

Good little goat!

F was a fish
Who was caught in a net;
But he got out again,
And is quite alive yet.

f

Lively young fish!

E was an elephant,
Stately and wise:
He had tusks and a trunk,
And two queer little eyes.

e

Oh, what funny small eyes!

D was a duck
With spots on his back,
Who lived in the water,
And always said "Quack!"

d

Dear little duck!

C was a cat
Who ran after a rat;
But his courage did fail
When she seized on his tail.

c

Crafty old cat!

B was a book
With a binding of blue,
And pictures and stories
For me and for you.

b

Nice little book!

A was an ant
Who seldom stood still,
And who made a nice house
In the side of a hill.

a

Nice little ant!