There was a Young Lady of Sweden,
Who went by the slow train to Weedon;
When they cried, "Weedon Station!"
She made no observation,
But thought she should go back to Sweden.
E.Lear, 1846
I wonder what's down there
There was an Old Person of Gretna,
Who rushed down the crater of Etna;
When they said, "Is it hot?"
He replied, "No, it's not!"
That mendacious Old Person of Gretna.
E.Lear, 1846
Bitter ale to cheer you up!
There was an Old Man with an owl,
Who continued to bother and howl;
He sate on a rail,
And imbibed bitter ale,
Which refreshed that Old Man and his owl.
E.Lear, 1846
We'll be first to throw stones
There was an old Person of Chester,
Whom several small children did pester;
They threw some large stones,
Which broke most of his bones,
And displeased that old person of Chester.
E.Lear, 1846
Let my fame be great
There was an Old Person of Tartary,
Who divided his jugular artery;
But he screeched to his wife,
And she said, "Oh, my life!
Your death will be felt by all Tartary!"
E.Lear, 1846
Listen to me, fish
There was a Young Lady of Welling,
Whose praise all the world was a-telling;
She played on the harp,
And caught several carp,
That accomplished Young Lady of Welling.
E.Lear, 1846
Martians' TV
Thou Shalt Not Steal
There was an Old Person of Cheadle,
Was put in the stocks by the beadle;
For stealing some pigs,
Some coats, and some wigs,
That horrible Person of Cheadle.
E.Lear, 1846
Love triangle
Forced armistice
IF - swarm
Let me fish quietly!
There was a Young Lady of Wales,
Who caught a large fish without scales;
When she lifted her hook,
She exclaimed, "Only look!"
That ecstatic Young Lady of Wales.
E.Lear, 1846
Is anybody home?
There was an Old Man, who said, "Well!
Will NOBODY answer this bell?
I have pulled day and night,
Till my hair has grown white,
But nobody answers this bell!"
E.Lear, 1846
I scream for an ice-cream
There was a Young Lady of Russia,
Who screamed so that no one could hush her;
Her screams were extreme,
No one heard such a scream,
As was screamed by that Lady of Russia.
E.Lear, 1846
Limericks book, part I, is complete!
The book is finally here! Part One of Edward Lear's limericks "Book of Nonsense" (see some sample drawings here and in the news section) with my pen and ink drawings, with all respect to original illustrations by the author, to commemorate 200 years since his birth. The process of hand-making the book has proven itself to be rather lengthy, so from now on I'm still sending books through the mail, but also accept some donations, to cover postage, time to produce, etc. I hope to hear from you - drop me a line to my email. Here's some photos of how the book looks like:
Keep your feet in the air!
There was an Old Person of Spain,
Who hated all trouble and pain;
So he sate on a chair,
With his feet in the air,
That umbrageous Old Person of Spain.
E.Lear, 1846
He didn't like the cake idea
There was an Old Man of Berlin,
Whose form was uncommonly thin;
Till he once, by mistake,
Was mixed up in a cake,
So they baked that Old Man of Berlin.
E.Lear, 1846
Annoying flies
There was a Young Lady of Troy,
Whom several large flies did annoy;
Some she killed with a thump,
Some she drowned at the pump,
And some she took with her to Troy.
E.Lear, 1846
IF - layer (the missing layer)
A Strand occurrence
There was an Old Person of Anerley,
Whose conduct was strange and unmannerly;
He rushed down the Strand,
With a Pig in each hand,
But returned in the evening to Anerley.
E.Lear, 1846