17 THE JUMBLIES

They went to sea in a sieve, they did;

In a sieve they went to sea;

In spite of all their friends could say,

On a winter's morn, on a stormy day,

In a sieve they went to sea.

Far and few, far and few,

Are the lands where the Jumblies live;

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue

And they went to sea in a sieve.

They sailed away in a sieve, they did,

In a sieve they sailed so fast,

With only a beautiful pea-green veil

Tied with a ribbon, by way of a sail,

To a small tobacco-pipe mast.

And everyone said who saw them go,

“Oh! won't they be soon upset, you know?

For the sky is dark, and the voyage is long;

And, happen what may, it's extremely wrong

In a sieve to sail so fast.”

They sailed to the Western Sea, they did—

To a land all covered with trees;

And they bought an owl, and a useful cart,

And a pound of rice, and a cranberry-tart,

And a hive of silvery bees;

And they bought a pig, and some green jackdaws,

And a lovely monkey with lollipop paws,

And forty bottles of ring-bo-ree,

And no end of Stilton cheese.

And in twenty years they all came back—

In twenty years or more;

And everyone said, “How tall they've grown!

For they've been to the Lakes, and the Torrible Zone,

And the hills of the Chankly Bore.”

And they drank their health, and gave them a feast of

Dumplings made of beautiful yeast;

And everyone said, “If we only live,

We, too, will go to sea in a sieve,

To the hills of the Chankly Bore.”

Far and few, far and few,

Are the lands where the Jumblies live;

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue

And they went to sea in a sieve.

(Edward Lear)

Word list

sieve: a utensil with holes to separate fine particles

voyage: a long journey

lollipop: a kind of candy

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) How do you know this is a nonsense poem?

2) There are many many made up words in the poem. What are some of them?

3) Which part of the poem do you think is the funniest? Why do you think so?

4) Why would a sieve not make a good boat?

5) If you went on a long sea voyage, what kinds of food and drinks would you bring with you?

B) The Jumblies—What do you think the Jumblies are? What do they look like? Where are they from? Write a short description of them.

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C) True, False, or Not Given—Read these sentences carefully. Write T (true), F (false), or NG (not given) for each.

1) _____ Ring-bo-ree is a drink.

2) _____ Sieves are often used as boats.

3) _____ Jumblies look like most other people.

4) _____ Jumblies like cheese.

5) _____ The Jumblies sailed around the world.