A was an ant
Who seldom stood still,
And who made a nice house
In the side of a hill.

B was a book
With a binding of blue,
And pictures and stories
For me and for you.

C was a cat
Who ran after a rat;
But his courage did fail
When she seized on his tail.

D was a duck
With spots on his back,
Who lived in the water,
And always said "Quack!"

E was an elephant,
Stately and wise:
He had tusks and a trunk,
And two queer little eyes.

F was a fish
Who was caught in a net;
But he got out again,
And is quite alive yet.

G was a goat
Who was spotted with brown:
When he did not lie still
He walked up and down.

H was a hat
Which was all on one side;
Its crown was too high,
And its brim was too wide.

I was some ice
So white and so nice,
But which nobody tasted;
And so it was wasted.

J was a jackdaw
Who hopped up and down
In the principal street
Of a neighboring town.

K was a kite
Which flew out of sight,
Above houses so high,
Quite into the sky.

L was a light
Which burned all the night,
And lighted the gloom
Of a very dark room.

M was a mill
Which stood on a hill,
And turned round and round
With a loud hummy sound.

N was a net
Which was thrown in the sea
To catch fish for dinner
For you and for me.

O was an orange
So yellow and round:
When it fell off the tree,
It fell down to the ground.

P was a pig,
Who was not very big;
But his tail was too curly,
And that made him surly.

Q was a quail
With a very short tail;
And he fed upon corn
In the evening and morn.

R was a rabbit,
Who had a bad habit
Of eating the flowers
In gardens and bowers.

S was the sugar-tongs,
Nippity-nee,
To take up the sugar
To put in our tea.

T was a tortoise,
All yellow and black:
He walked slowly away,
And he never came back.

U was an urn
All polished and bright,
And full of hot water
At noon and at night.

V was a villa
Which stood on a hill,
By the side of a river,
And close to a mill.

W was a whale
With a very long tail,
Whose movements were frantic
Across the Atlantic.

X was King Xerxes,
Who, more than all Turks, is
Renowned for his fashion
Of fury and passion.

Y was a yew,
Which flourished and grew
By a quiet abode
Near the side of a road.

Z was some zinc,
So shiny and bright,
Which caused you to wink
In the sun's merry light.