The Owl and the Pussy-Cat
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat
By Edward Lear
Read The Owl and the Pussy-Cat poem, a delightful classic for kids about an owl and a cat who sail across the sea in a pea-green boat. Edward Lear fills their moonlit adventure with rhyme, imagination, music and wonderfully playful nonsense.
Enjoy The Owl and the Pussy-Cat poem for kids, a playful classic filled with rhyme, imagination and a wonderfully unusual moonlit adventure.
🌱 The Poem
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
“O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!”
Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?”
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.
“Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.”
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.
🌟 Why Kids Enjoy This Classic Poem
The playful rhythm makes the lines enjoyable to read aloud, while the pea-green boat, Bong-tree, Piggy-wig and runcible spoon give children unusual pictures to imagine. Repetition helps young readers hear the beat of the language. Reading The Owl and the Pussy-Cat poem for kids is also a fun way to explore rhyme, descriptive words and creative storytelling.
🎨 A Fun After-Poem Activity
Draw the pea-green boat under a bright moon. Add the Owl’s guitar, the Pussy-Cat, honey and anything else the travelers should carry. Then invent a new island for the pair to visit. Give the island a silly name and describe one unusual creature that lives there. This extends Edward Lear’s imaginative world while encouraging drawing, vocabulary and storytelling.
