Poem by Lewis Carroll

King-Fisher Song

King Fisher courted Lady Bird –
Sing Beans, sing Bones, sing Butterflies! 
            ‘Find me my match,’ he said, 
            ‘With such a noble head –
With such a beard, as white as curd –
            With such expressive eyes!’

‘Yet pins have heads,’ said Lady Bird –
Sing Prunes, sing Prawns, sing Primrose-Hill!
            ‘And, where you stick them in, 
            They stay, and thus a pin
Is very much to be preferred
            To one that’s never still!’

‘Oysters have beards,’ said Lady Bird –
Sing Flies, sing Frogs, sing Fiddle-strings!
            ‘I love them, for I know
            They never chatter so:
They would not say one single word – 
            Not if you crowned them Kings!’

‘Needles have Eyes,’ said Lady Bird –
Sing Cats, sing Corks, sing Cowslip-tea! 
            ‘And they are sharp – just what 
            Your Majesty is not:
So get you gone – ’tis too absurd
            To come a-courting me!’

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