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Wonderland-Songs. Three Little Songs

by Dorothea Hofmann (b. 1961)

1. The little Crocodile  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
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!

Text Authorship:

  • by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll, no title, appears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, London, Macmillan; chapter 2, first published 1865

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • FRE French (Français) (Henri Bué) , no title

Note: a parody of Isaac Watt's Against Idleness and Mischief

Researcher for this page: Barbara Miller

2. The Queen of Hearts  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
The Queen of Hearts,
She made some tarts,
All on a summer's day;
The Knave of hearts,
He stole those tarts,
And took them clean away.

The King of Hearts
Called for the tarts,
And beat the knave full sore;
The Knave of hearts
Brought back the tarts,
And vowed he'd steal no more.

Text Authorship:

  • by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll

See other settings of this text.

Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani

3. In winter  [sung text not yet checked]

Language: English 
In winter, when the fields are white,
I sing this song for your delight —
In spring, when woods are getting green,
I'll try and tell you what I mean:
In summer, when the days are long,
Perhaps you'll understand the song:
In autumn, when the leaves are brown,
Take pen and ink, and write it down.
I sent a message to the fish:
I told them "This is what I wish."
The little fishes of the sea,
They sent an answer back to me.
The little fishes' answer was
"We cannot do it, Sir, because —"'
I sent to them again to say
"It will be better to obey."
The fishes answered, with a grin,
"Why, what a temper you are in!"
I told them once, I told them twice:
They would not listen to advice.
I took a kettle large and new,
Fit for the deed I had to do.
My heart went hop, my heart went thump:
I filled the kettle at the pump.
Then some one came to me and said
"The little fishes are in bed."
I said to him, I said it plain,
"Then you must wake them up again."
I said it very loud and clear:
I went and shouted in his ear.'
'But he was very stiff and proud:
He said, "You needn't shout so loud!"
And he was very proud and stiff:
He said "I'd go and wake them, if —"
I took a corkscrew from the shelf:
I went to wake them up myself.
And when I found the door was locked,
I pulled and pushed and kicked and knocked.
And when I found the door was shut,
I tried to turn the handle, but —

Text Authorship:

  • by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll, no title, appears in Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There

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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Total word count: 380
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