Alan Alexander Milne

“ It isn’t like a house at all.
I went into a house and it wasn’t a house—
Slow white petals from the may-tree fall;
But it hasn’t got a blackbird,
A blackbird,
A blackbird,
It isn’t like a house at all. ”

“ Whenever I look up the hill
Where, dark against the green and blue,
The firs come marching, two by two,
I wonder if perhaps I might
See suddenly a shining knight
Winding his way from blue to green—
Exactly as it would have been
Those many, many years ago. . . .
Perhaps I might. You never know. ”

“ HALFWAY DOWN
Halfway down the stairs
Is a stair
Where I sit.
There isn’t any
Other stair
Quite like
It.
I’m not at the bottom,
I’m not at the top;
So this is the stair
Where
I always
Stop. ”

“ We tried to talk, but had to shout—
Nobody else was out.
When we got home, we had sand in the hair,
In the eyes and the ears and everywhere;
Whenever a good nor'-wester blows,
Christopher is found with Sand-between-the-toes. ”

“ The cows came slowly, one by one,
Breathing the early morning air
And leaving it still sweeter there.
And, one by one, intent upon
Their purposes, they followed on
In ordered silence . . . and were gone. ”

“ What is the matter with Mary Jane?
What is the matter with Mary Jane?
She's perfectly well and she hasn't a pain,
And it's lovely rice pudding for dinner again!—
What is the matter with Mary Jane? ”

“ With any Indians to-day,
I simply wave my hand.
And then they turn and go away—
They always understand.
The Second Chair.
I’m a great big lion in my cage,
And I often frighten Nanny with a roar. ”

“ How fresh the chrysanthemums look in the sun!"
The Dormouse lay happy, his eyes were so tight
He could see no chrysanthemums, yellow or white,
And all that he felt at the back of his head
Were delphiniums (blue) and geraniums (red) .
And that is the reason (Aunt Emily said)
If a Dormouse gets in a chrysanthemum bed,
You will find (so Aunt Emily says) that he lies
Fast asleep on his front with his paws to his eyes. ”

“ We all ran up to her. "Emmeline!
Where have you been?
Where have you been?
Why, it's more than a week!" And Emmeline
Said, "Sillies, I went and saw the Queen.
She says my hands are purfickly clean!" ”

“ Whom are you going to marry,
⁠Bo-Peep?"
"Little Boy Blue, Boy Blue,
I'd like to marry you."
"I think I should like it too,
⁠Little Bo-Peep."
"Where are we going to live,
⁠Little Boy Blue?
Where are we going to-live,
⁠Boy Blue? ”

“ Lazy on a leaf lies the Lake King’s daughter,
And the faint winds shake her.
Who will come and take her?
I will! I will!
Keep still! Keep still!
Sleeping on a leaf lies the Lake King’s daughter . . . ”

“ A bear, however hard he tries,
Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,
Which is not to be wondered at;
He gets what exercise he can
By falling off the ottoman,
But generally seems to lack
The energy to clamber back. ”

“ Who didn’t wear stockings, and they didn’t wear sockses,
But they all had handkerchiefs to blow their noses,
And they kept their handkerchiefs in cardboard boxes.
They lived in the forest in three little houses,
And they didn’t wear coats, and they didn’t wear trousies.
They ran through the woods on their little bare tootsies,
And they played "Touch last" with a family of mouses. ”

“ They took him by the breeches, and they hurled him into ditches,
⁠And they pushed him under waterfalls, and this is what they said:
⁠"You are Sir Brian—don't laugh,
⁠You are Sir Brian—don't cry;
⁠You are Sir Brian, as bold as a lion—
⁠Sir Brian, the lion, good-bye!"
Sir Brian struggled home again, and chopped up his battleaxe,
⁠Sir Brian took his fighting boots, and threw them in the fire.
He is quite a different person now he hasn't got his spurs on,
⁠And he goes about the village as B. Botany, Esquire.
⁠"I am Sir Brian? Oh, no!
⁠I am Sir Brian? Who's he? ”

“ They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
Alice is marrying one of the guard.
"A soldier’s life is terrible hard,”
⁠Says Alice.
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
We saw a guard in a sentry-box.
“One of the sergeants looks after their socks,”
⁠Says Alice. ”

“ Took great
Care of his Mother,
Though he was only three.
James James
Said to his Mother,
"Mother," he said, said he;
"You must never go down to the end of the town, if
you don't go down with me." ”

“ There lives an old man at the top of the street,
And the end of his beard reaches down to his feet,
And he's just the one person I'm longing to meet,
⁠I think that he sounds so exciting;
For he talks all the day to his tortoiseshell cat,
And he asks about this, and explains about that,
And at night he puts on a big wide-awake [1] hat
⁠And sits in the writing-room, writing.
He has worked all his life (and he's terribly old)
At a wonderful spell which says, "Lo, and behold! ”

“ Ernest was an elephant, a great big fellow,
⁠Leonard was a lion with a six-foot tail,
George was a goat, and his beard was yellow,
⁠And James was a very small snail.
Leonard had a stall, and a great big strong one,
⁠Ernest had a manger, and its walls were thick,
George found a pen, but I think it was the wrong one,
⁠And James sat down on a brick.
Ernest started trumpeting, and cracked his manger,
⁠Leonard started roaring, and shivered his stall,
James gave the huffle of a snail in danger
⁠And nobody heard him at all. ”

“ Theres a cavern in the mountain where the old men meet
(Hammer, hammer, hammer . . .
Hammer, hammer, hammer . . .)
They make gold slippers for my lady’s feet
(Hammer, hammer, hammer . . .
Hammer, hammer, hammer . . .) ”

“ He came from the country, he wasn't a town one,
So he'll feel all lonely in a London street;
Why, what could he possibly find to eat?
He must be somewhere. I'll ask Aunt Rose:
Have you seen a mouse with a woffelly nose? ”

“ Then said His Majesty, "Well, well,
I must get on," and rang the bell.
"Your bear, I think," he smiled. "Good-day!"
And turned, and went upon his way
A bear, however hard he tries,
Grows tubby without exercise. ”

“ And you'd see me here in the fields and say:
"Doesn't the sky look green to-day?"
Where am I going?The high rooks call:
"It's awful fun to be born at all."
Where am I going?The ring-doves coo:
"We do have beautiful things to do." ”

“ I met a Man as I went walking;
We got talking,
Man and I.
"Where are you going to, Man?" I said
(I said to the Man as he went by) .
"Down to the village, to get some bread.
Will you come with me?" "No, not I."
I met a Horse as I went walking ”