Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

The Pobble Who Has No Toes -- Edward Lear

       
(Poem #297) The Pobble Who Has No Toes
The Pobble who has no toes
Had once as many as we;
When they said "Some day you may lose them all;"
He replied "Fish, fiddle-de-dee!"
And his Aunt Jobiska made him drink
Lavender water tinged with pink,
For she said "The World in general knows
There's nothing so good for a Pobble's toes!"

The Pobble who has no toes
Swam across the Bristol Channel;
But before he set out he wrapped his nose
In a piece of scarlet flannel.
For his Aunt Jobiska said "No harm
Can come to his toes if his nose is warm;
And it's perfectly known that a Pobble's toes
Are safe, -- provided he minds his nose!"

The Pobble swam fast and well,
And when boats or ships came near him,
He tinkledy-blinkledy-winkled a bell,
So that all the world could hear him.
And all the Sailors and Admirals cried,
When they saw him nearing the further side -
"He has gone to fish for his Aunt Jobiska's
Runcible Cat with crimson whiskers!"

But before he touched the shore,
The shore of the Bristol Channel,
A sea-green porpoise carried away
His wrapper of scarlet flannel.
And when he came to observe his feet,
Formerly garnished with toes so neat,
His face at once became forlorn,
On perceiving that all his toes were gone!

And nobody ever knew,
From that dark day to the present,
Whoso had taken the Pobble's toes,
In a manner so far from pleasant.
Whether the shrimps, or crawfish grey,
Or crafty Mermaids stole them away -
Nobody knew: and nobody knows
How the Pobble was robbed of his twice five toes!

The Pobble who has no toes
Was placed in a friendly Bark,
And they rowed him back, and carried him up
To his Aunt Jobiska's Park.
And she made him a feast at his earnest wish
Of eggs and buttercups fried with fish, -
And she said "It's a fact the whole world knows,
That Pobbles are happier without their toes!"
-- Edward Lear
The Pobble's Aunt Jobiska is one of my favourite poetic personages, if only
because she seems to embody the many oh-so-familiar characteristics of aunts
everywhere [1].

The Pobble himself is a rather mysterious character. Like his soulmate, the Dong
with the Luminous Nose, he lives in a surreal, twilit world, populated with
Runcible Cats, Jumbly Girls and Oblong Oysters...

thomas.

PS. As an aside, I just love the effrontery with which Lear coins the name
'Jobiska', and then goes on to rhyme it with 'whiskers'...

[1] To any of my aunts who may happen to chance upon this email - this doesn't
apply to you, of course :-)

[Links]

Edward Lear's most celebrated poem is 'The Owl and the Pussycat', which you can
read at poem #165 - there's also a
brief biography of the poet at the same URL.

The other canonical example of nonsense verse is Samuel Foote's 'The Great
Panjandrum', at poem #208

[Connection with the theme]

Edward Lear spent most of his adult life traveling, mainly around the
Mediterranean (though he also spent long stretches in India and Ceylon). He
stayed in Rome, Corfu and San Remo at various times in his life; while there, he
produced a series of justly-celebrated watercolours. His favourite subjects were
songbirds and landscapes, both of which he drew with a delicate touch and a
painstaking attention to detail. The Ashmolean in Oxford has an extensive
selection of his work; it's well worth a visit, if you ever find yourself in
that part of the world.

86 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

John Wilkins said...

Note that John Maynard Smith, in his book _Evolution_ coined the term
"Aunt Jobiska's Theorem" for "It is a fact everyone knows".

Helen Thompson said...

I have always wished that I had written this!!
Pure brilliance!

Waddell Glenda said...

We lost our Jobiska last summer and still miss her dearly. When our
daughter was 3 she declared - while we were reading about the Pobble -
that if she ever got another dog she would name her "Jobiska". And she
did. Jobiska, our beautiful airedale lived to be 12 years of age and in
her time did many gigs with our daughter on her clarinet and Jobiska as
soloist. Her last performance was for a large audience of seniors who
laughed for the entire 70 minute performance and then insisted that they
each feed Jobiska their ice cream cone. Turns out seniors are very
familiar with the breed since they were very popular in the '30s.
Thanks to EL for coining the name.

Glenda Waddell

John Weston said...

Wonderful - I read this poem when I was only 6 years old and now 67 years later I rediscover it. Once more the pleasure is all mine.
John Weston

Patricia Glenn said...

"Fish fiddle dee dee!" Who asserted that the Pobble and the Dong are
soulmates? Nonesense! The Dong roams the world (actually the Great
Grumboolian Plain) looking for his "Jumbly Girl." Be more precise,
please!

Aunty Panty

RICHARD BANK said...

EL is the most under-rated of all the Children's writers. He should be up there with Carrol and Baum. To this day, when I speak to my adult children about my sisters, I always refer to them as your Aunt Jobisca and, shocking as it seems, in fast food restaurants you cannot order lavender water tinged tinged with pink.

Richard Bank said...

I thought that an "Aunt Jobiska" is someone who always says everything is OK. The Jobiska theorum is new to me. Pass the lavender water.

kbennett232 said...

My husband has unfortunately just had his toe amputated. Many thanks Mr
Wolf and his team. Our friend "Peter" from the Co-op suggested we look up this
poem. Enjoyed it immensely and it made us smile.

Unknown said...

I usually like to be aware about the take care of the toes and i like to read about it. This because i´m sure the toes is the sexiest part of our body. I usually like to touch the toes of my body, it say the massage can exited the man. but now he to buy viagra and his mood has been an amazing change.

Anonymous said...

What delicious verses! I don't remember who gave me the collected work of Edward Lear when I was a child, but I remember doubling over in stitches at reading his "Nonsense Cookery," and still cite the recipes. As long as human beings will be able to laugh, I hope they'll find, or have access to, the poems of Edward Lear.
Marcia Lieberman

Baby Clothes said...

I appreciates your creation and writing, it is really great efforts done by you, i am so glad to reading this.

International Flights said...

The Pobble who has no toes but in-spite of this he can swam faster than other this really great achievement and courage, i am really fill proud for him.

Cheap Flights to Thailand said...

It is biggest inspiration for all the people who has physical defects, but instead of having this defects they can o every activities which are done by normal people.

DM 500 said...

I am pleased to read this poetry it was really a appreciable efforts done by you. i am sob glad to have this information.

Unknown said...

NEED THE SUMMARY OF THIS POEM

Download Mozilla Firefox Terbaru said...

Thank you for this interesting post and my site pusber. It was a good read... some good...

lowongan kerja said...

I get a lot of referrals from this site.
I also wrote in a blog: lowongan kerja 2013, lowongan kerja terbaru and info lowongan kerja.

Lowongan Kerja said...

wow,,amazing..plis visit my blog..thx :)

Anonymous said...

This excellent website truly has all the information and facts I wanted about this subject
and didn't know who to ask.

Also visit my web page :: https://en.Wiki.aktivix.org/index.php?title=User:Miriam11K

Anonymous said...

Nice post. I was checking continuously this blog and I'm impressed! Very helpful info specially the last part :) I care for such info a lot. I was seeking this particular information for a long time. Thank you and best of luck.

Visit my web-site: Visit The Following Post

Anonymous said...

Dumbbell Triceps Presses operate by lying down plus the extending your arms straight
up more than the chest, making sure that palms are face in.


Feel free to surf to my web-site: adjustable dumbbells sets

Anonymous said...

Two renowned spokespeople, Chuck Norris, the famed martial artist,
and Supermodel Christie Brinkley, are liable for generating this an incredibly well-known machine.



Also visit my homepage: http://www.getfitnstrong.com/bowflex-dumbbells/reviewing-bowflex-selecttech-552-adjustable-dumbbells-pair/

Anonymous said...

You receive to zone in on oneself and only on your own!


Also visit my web blog; bowflex selecttech 552 dumbbells

Anonymous said...

Rear push ellipticals will be the variety which are mostly found in health
and fitness clubs, also simply because they possess a tiny footprint.


Here is my web page free weights for sale

Anonymous said...

Individuals who commence their initial training plan, and in many
cases anyone who has formerly exercised in a single variety or one more will often be not incredibly
knowledgeable about lots of suitable matters.

Here is my page: getfitnstrong.com

Obat Kencing Berdarah said...

His favourite subjects were
songbirds and landscapes, both of which he drew with a delicate touch and a
painstaking attention to detail.
Obat Infeksi Lambung

John Morgan said...

I like your web! I was reading the news and I saw this really cool info…

Fat Loss Factor Clickbank said...

Fat Loss Factor is a Clickbank digital product that promises to help you lose fat with as little effort as possible.

Skinny Fat Solution Review said...

In this Skinny Fat Solution Review, you will find out everything there is to know about this new fat loss product.

hp android berkualitas said...

it is really great efforts done by you, i am so glad to reading this

indonesia lens said...

thank you for sharing, great post

Indonesia Lens

Anonymous said...

one of the positive things I have ever done is to visit the website / blog it. I am very impressed with your article writings. Good luck friend Read more at obat kemaluan keluar nanah / obat kemaluan keluar nanah / obat kemaluan keluar nanah / obat kemaluan keluar nanah / obat kemaluan keluar nanah

unsgu said...

Nice info given, may be a blessing and cara memperbesar penis dengan mudah benefit us all

Unknown said...

JSolusi yang tepat untuk mengobati penyakit wasir tanpa harus operasi, menggunakan obat wasir  Paling ampuh dari De Nature dan terbaik ada hanya di http://obatwasirme.blogspot.com untuk mendapatkan informasi yang lebih jelas mengenai pengobatan wasir silahkan kontak langsung di nomer 0852 808 77 999 atau 0859 7373 5656 Bagaimana mengobati Ambeien itu sendiri. pengobatan yang terbaik untuk Ambeien adalah dari luar dan dalam sehingga Ambeien benar benar tuntas dan tidak akan kambuh lagi. obat Ambeien terbaik "Ambeclear dari De Nature" Adalah obat Ambeien herbal yang memang terbaik untuk mengobati Ambeien, dan sudah terdaftar di badan obat dan makanan (BPOM) dengan nomer registrasi POM TR: 133 374 041. terbuat dari bahan alami antara lain terdiri Daung Ungu, Mahkota Dewa dan Kunyit Putih.

Viagra said...

makasih informasinya..

Unknown said...

Wasir atau sering disebut ambeien (dalam bahasa inggris atau latinn disebut Hemorrhoid dan dalam bahasa kedokteran disebut Piles) adalah penyakit atau gangguan pada anus dimana Sphinchter Ani atau bibir anus, mengalami pembengkakan yang kadang-kadang disertai pendarahan

IDN Poker said...

bermain judi online di idn poker sekarang bisa di mainkan di android dan ios dengan deposit minimal 10 ribu rupiah di bank lokal seperti BCA, BNI, BRI, dan Mandiri untuk mempermudah anda dalam berdeposit, ayo klik link di bawah ini untuk bermain di idn poker.
http://www.aacaa7.org/texas-poker-online-uang-asli-sekarang-udah-bisa-main-di-hp

Post a Comment