WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
Mother Goose's Bicycle Tour cover

Mother Goose's Bicycle Tour

Chapter 44: FOOTNOTES:
By M. A. Bonnell
Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

AdventureChildren & Young Adult ReadingPoetry

About This Book

The collection frames a lighthearted bicycle tour taken by an elderly rhyming hostess and her goose, using that journey to present a wide assortment of nursery verses, parodies, and short poems. Familiar jingles and character pieces alternate with comic vignettes, riddles, and enigmata, often interspersed with French phrases and playful foreign allusions. Stanzas range from sing-song originals to humorous rewrites, accompanied by occasional scene-setting lines and a glossary. The overall tone is whimsical and theatrical, aimed at young readers through melodic rhythm, visual suggestion, and gentle absurdity.

THIS STUDIOUS GIRL OF OGONTZ

Cette fille studieuse de l’OgontzC
Said, “This child will, I fear, be a dunce;
It’s my place to see that
She is taught to spell cat,
So come here, little sister, at once.”
This lad with compassion was smitten,
Qui vint des environs de Wittin,
He said, “I fear that
She’s too young to spell ‘cat’,
Oh do, please, first try her with ‘kitten.’”

FOOTNOTES:

C Ogontz is a college in the United States.

ENIGMAS

ENIGMA.
Connaissez-vous mon père?
Connaissez-vous ma mère?
Connaissez-vous mes frères,
chérie?
ENIGMA.
They are hiding in the hedge,
They are peeping o’er the ledge,
They are seeking in the grass
For me.
CASSANDRE.
À cette fenêtre
Veux-tu paraître?
De tout mon être
Je t’attends.
My heart is ever true,
I wait, dear love, for you,
At this our rendez-vous,
Cassandre.