Rhymes and Poems

(See also Members' Interests for articles on Nursery Rhymes and Poems, with more examples)

What are little boys made of?

What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails,
And puppy dog's tails
That's what little boys are made of.

What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice,
And all things nice
That's what little girls are made of.

(Traditional nursery rhyme)

Four and Twenty Tailors

Four and twenty tailors
Went to catch a snail;
The bravest one among them
Dared not touch her tail.
She put out her horns,
Like a little Kyloe cow.
Run, tailors, run,
She'll have you even now!

(Traditional nursery rhyme)

The Snail

At sunset, when the night-dews fall,
Out of the ivy on the wall
With horns outstretched and pointed tail
Comes the grey and noiseless snail.
On ivy stems she clambers down,
Carrying her house of brown.
Safe in the dark, no greedy eye
Can her tender body spy,
While she herself, a hungry thief,
Searches out the freshest leaf.
She travels on as best she can
Like a toppling caravan.

(by James Reeves)

'Will you walk a little faster?' said a whiting to a snail,
'There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail.'
(Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 1865)