PARODIES
by Lewis Carroll

Dr. Isaac Watts:  Against Idleness and Mischief

How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!

In works of labor of of skill,
I would be busy too;
For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do.

Lewis Carroll:

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws;
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws.


Robert Southey:  The Old Man's Comforts and How He Gained Them

"You are old, Father William," the young man cried;
"The few locks that are left you are grey.
You are hale, Father William - a hearty old man -
Now tell me the reason, I pray."

"In the days of my youth," Father William replied,
"I remembered that youth would fly fast;
And abused not my health nor my vigor at first,
That I never might rue them at last."

Lewis Carroll:

"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head -
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"

"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain;
But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again."