The King asked
The Queen, and
The Queen asked
The Dairymaid:
"Could we have some butter for
The Royal slice of bread?"
The Queen asked the Dairymaid,
The Dairymaid
Said, "Certainly,
I'll go and tell the cow
Now
Before she goes to bed."
The Dairymaid
She curtsied,
And went and told the Alderney:
"Don't forget the butter for
The Royal slice of bread."
The Alderney said sleepily:
"You'd better tell
His Majesty
That many people nowadays
Like marmalade
Instead."
The Dairymaid
Said "Fancy!"
And went to
Her Majesty.
She curtsied to the Queen, and
She turned a little red:
"Excuse me,
Your Majesty,
For taking of
The liberty,
But marmalade is tasty, if
It's very
Thickly
Spread."
The Queen said
"Oh!"
And went to his Majesty:
"Talking of the butter for
The royal slice of bread,
Many people
Think that
Marmalade
Is nicer.
Would you like to try a little
Marmalade
Instead?"
The King said,
"Bother!"
And then he said,
"Oh, deary me!"
The King sobbed, "Oh, deary me!"
And went back to bed.
"Nobody,"
He whimpered,
"Could call me
A fussy man;
I only want
A little bit
Of butter for
My bread!"
The Queen said,
"There, there!"
And went to
The Dairymaid.
The Dairymaid
Said, "There, there!"
And went to the shed.
The cow said,
"There, there!
I didn't really
Mean it;
Here's milk for his porringer
And butter for his bread."
The queen took the butter
And brought it to
His Majesty.
The King said
"Butter, eh?"
And bounced out of bed.
"Nobody," he said,
As he kissed her
Tenderly,
"Nobody," he said,
As he slid down
The banisters,
"Nobody,
My darling,
Could call me
A fussy man -
BUT
I do like a little bit of butter to my bread!"
-- A A Milne
NOW WE ARE SIX
I love this bit of nonsense as I love all the works of AA Milne. This came back to me last night. Having first been woken up by JP's nightly shout...last nights was all about Credit cards, Bills and turning off lights - [he was asleep...it is a nightly occurrance] and then his snoring, which though noisy, at least showed me he was in a deep sleep and the nightly yelling was over- I was wide awake. It was then that I remembered another poem...after AA Milne written by the brilliant Christopher Matthew in his book NOW WE ARE SIXTY [AND A BIT] It is called I WISH [after IF I WERE KING]
I often wish that I were dead,Instead of lying here in bed
And torturing my silly headWith everything from A to Z:
With germs and poisons being spread,And all that blood so freely shed,
And why we're all so badly led,And who should do the job instead,
And what it was my wife/hubs once saidAbout what's in the garden shed,
And what became of poor old Ted,And, while I think about it, Fred,
And why I am not better read,And should I move to Leatherhead?
I often wish that I were dead,And free from mortal fear and dread.
But here I am, tucked up in bed,Hanging by a tiny thread.
So today, I took down my two volumes of Christopher Matthew's modern take on A.A. Milne [a gift from number one and only son for my 60th birthday]and found his version of THE KING'S BREAKFAST. It's called THE QUEENS PICKLE.It was written around the time when the Queen asked for more money from the Civil Purse.
The Duke askedThe Queen, andThe Queen askedThe Chancellor:'Could one have some extraFor the Royal Board and Bed?The Queen rang the Chancellor,The ChancellorSaid, 'Prudence, Ma'am,I'll go and thinkTankBefore they all see red.'
The ChancellorThought 'Sod it,'And rang the boysAt Demos.'Any chance of extraFor the Royal Board and Bed?'
The Demos boysSaid, 'Joking!You can go and tellHer MajestyThe thinking now is favouringA President instead.
The ChancellorSaid, 'Thrifty!'And went toHer Majesty.He winked with his good eye andSaid, 'I'm not well bred.Pardon me not bowing,But the on dit in the countryIs that private life is pleasant ifIt's comfortablyLed.'
The QueenSaid, 'Eeeow,'And went toSee Edinburgh.'You mentioned some extra forThe Royal Board and Bed.According toYoung GordonRetiringIs an option.Would one care to try someRetirementInstead?'
The Duke said,'Bollocks!And then he said,'Oh bugger it!The Duke yelled, 'Bastards!'And went brick red.'Nobody,'He barked,'Could call meDifficult,But frankly,Put it this way,I'd be betterOrf dead.'
The Queen snapped,'Philip!'And carpetedThe Chancellor.The ChancellorSaid, 'Now, now,Careful how you tread.We in New LabourAre hardlyPro-Monarchy,Push your luck, you'll end upIn a council house instead.
The Queen said,'Cobblers!'And called upHer bankers.The Manager said,'Money, ma'am?You're hardly in the red.''Good,' said the QueenAs she tripped on a corgi.'Great,' said the DukeAs he kissed his wifeTenderly.'Stuff'em,'they saidAs they drove down to Windsor.'When one's asRich as we are,One's one's own Way Ahead!'
All this is to give you a smile and to let you know that [a]we are all entitled to some butter on our bread. [b] To urge you to read All of the books mentioned and [c]funny stuff is always funny.
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ReplyDeleteI am torn between offering you sympathy for a restless night's sleep or gratitude that is inspired you to share this.
ReplyDeleteGratitude. A good laugh, indeed.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, my eighth grade English teacher was Mr. Leatherhead. Hmm.
very catchy! :) thanks!
ReplyDeleteHow fun! Thanks. I did smile, a lot!
ReplyDeleteThat was a lot of hard work for you putting this together..... but I'm glad you did because it was well woth the read.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Maggie x
Nuts in May
Can't go wrong with A A Milne. Very fun stuff.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about hub's sleeping problem, which in turn becomes your sleeping problem.
Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletehttp://brownbugz.blogspot.com
I'd like to know something... Is your middle name 'Anne'?
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by #19! Come back and see me anytime.
Mollie: Yes it is, though Christened Mollyanne it was always subdivided.
ReplyDeleteBrownugz: You are very welcome and thank you for your company.
ReplyDeleteGaelyn: My life is never boring, even when himself is asleep
ReplyDeleteMaggie May: Yes, it was hard work as I don't touch type...all those capitals, etc..XXX
ReplyDeletePat: Thank you...that was my aim.
ReplyDeleteKay: Thank you for coming over.
Jayne: Leatherhead is a nice town I believe. What fun if Mr. Leatherhead originated there.
Indigodog: Either one gratfully received, thank you.
Christobel: Thank you for your visit but I tend not to respond to things I don't understand.
Loved this poetry!! I'm inspired to go find more works by these men.
ReplyDelete"at least showed me he was in a deep sleep and the nightly yelling was over-" --- classic :)
I loved this! Not in my canon of children's stories, but so appreciated.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! Made me smile! Can't wait for more!
ReplyDeleteA lovely post. My husband has taken to talking in his sleep and I'm never sure if I should answer him or just roll him over.
ReplyDeleteLove it. haha great blog. :) for any and all world news and truths including CIA documents leaked through mirror.wikileaks.info visit my blog: www.commonsenseincrisis.blogspot.com and let me know what you think. my name is Alex.
ReplyDeleteI am also a poet and a tv producer so my page is a broad portal to truth. check it out. :)
ReplyDeleteI loved them!!! Brought back memories of my childhood :)
ReplyDeleteOh I totally loved this poem when I was young. My favourite was the poem about the India rubber ball, though. Thank you for posting these!
ReplyDeletehaha. i loved them.
ReplyDeleteyes india rubber ball is one of my favourites to...but then they are all good...and mum, moannie put melodies to some of them and l sang them to my kids whe they were smaller...
ReplyDeletesaz x
I love A.A. Milne too. I've been trying to find his collection called When We Were Very Young but still couldn't find it. I love this post!!
ReplyDeleteNice
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI love the timelessness of the insomnia poem. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
ReplyDeleteI've not heard of A.A. Milne, I'll check him out! I have a snoring husband as well and have found that ear plugs work wonders for my sleep! My mother started it with my dad and I quickly adopted the idea from her. I get the soft ones from the drugstore. Some people can't sleep with things in their ears, but it's worth a shot if you are constantly woken. :)
ReplyDeleteA great read!
ReplyDelete