Mr. and Mrs. Discobbolos

I

Mr. and Mrs Discobbolos
Climbed to the top of a wall.
And they sate to watch the sunset sky
And to hear the Nupiter Piffkin cry
And the Biscuit Buffalo call.
They took up a roll and some Camomile tea,
And both were as happy as happy could be—
Till Mrs. Discobbolos said,—
“O, W! X! Y! Z!
“It has just come into my head—
“Suppose we should happen to fall!!!!!
“Darling Mr. Discobbolos.

II

“Suppose we should fall down flumpetty
“Just like pieces of stone!
“On to the thorns,—or into the moat!
“What would become of your new green coat
“And might you not break a bone?
“It never occurred to me before—
“That perhaps we shall never go down any more!”
And Mrs. Discobobbolos said—
“O, W! X! Y! Z!
“What put it into your head
“To climb up this wall?—my own
“Darling Mr. Discobbolos?”

III

Mr. Discobbolos answered,—
“At first it gave me pain,—
“And I felt my ears turn perfectly pink
“When your exclamations made me think
“We might never get down again!
“But now I believe it is wiser far
“To remain for ever just where we are.”—
And Mr. Discobbolos said,
“O, W! X! Y! Z!
“It has just come into my head—
“—— We shall never go down again—
Dearest Mrs. Discobbolos!”

IV

So Mr. and Mrs. Discobbolos
Stood up and began to sing,
“Far away from hurry and strife
“Here we will pass the rest of life,
“Ding a dong, ding dong, ding!
“We want no knives nor forks nor chairs,
Nor tables nor carpets nor household cares,
“From worry of life we’ve fled—
“O, W! X! Y! Z!’
“There is no more trouble ahead,
Sorrow or any such thing—
“For Mr. and Mrs. Discobbolos!”

 

SECOND PART

I

Mr. and Mrs. Discobbolos
Lived on the top of the wall,
For twenty years, a month and a day,
Till their hair had grown all pearly gray,
And their teeth began to fall.
They never were ill or at all dejected,
By all admired, and by some respected,
Till Mrs. Discobbolos said,
“O, W! X! Y! Z!
“It has just come into my head,
“We have no more room at all—
“Darling Mr. Discobbolos!

II

“Look at our six fine boys!
“And our six sweet girls so fair!
“Upon this wall they have all been born,
And not one of the twelve has happened to fall
“Through my maternal care!
“Surely they should not pass their lives
“Without any chance of husbands or wives!”
And Mrs. Discobbolos said,
“O, W! X! Y! Z!
“Did it never come into your head
“That our lives must be lived elsewhere,
“Dearest Mr. Discobbolos!”

III

They have never been to a ball,
“Nor have ever seen a bazaar!
“Nor have heard folks say in a tone all hearty
‘’What loves of girls (at a garden party)
Those Misses Discobbolos are!’
“Morning and night it drives me wild
“To think of the fate of each darling child!”
But Mr. Discobbolos said,
“O, W! X! Y! Z!
“What has come to your fiddledum head!
“What a runcible goose you are!
“Octopod Mrs. Discobbolos!”

IV

Suddenly Mr. Discobbolos
Slid from the top of the wall;
And beneath it he dug a dreadful trench,
And filled it with dynamite, gunpowder gench,
And aloud he began to call—
“Let the wild bee sing,
“And the blue bird hum!
“For the end of your lives has certainly come!”
And Mrs. Discobbolos said,
“O, W! X! Y! Z!
“We shall presently all be dead,
“On this ancient runcible wall,
“Terrible Mr. Discobbolos!”

V

Pensively, Mr. Discobbolos
Sat with his back to the wall,
He lighted a match, and fired the train,
And the mortified mountain echoed again
To the sound of an awful fall!
And all the Discobbolos family flew
In thousands of bits to the sky so blue,
And no one was left to have said,
“O, W! X! Y! Z!
“Has it come into anyone’s head
“That the end has happened to all
“Of the whole of the Clan Discobbolos?”

Edward Lear (1812–1888)