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    There was an Old Man who supposed
    That the street door was partially closed;
    But some very large Rats ate his coats and his hats,
    While that futile Old Gentleman dozed.

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    There was an Old Person whose habits
    Induced him to feed upon Rabbits;
    When he’d eaten eighteen, he turned perfectly green,
    Upon which he relinquished those habits.

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    There was an Old Man of the West,
    Who wore a pale plum-colored vest;
    When they said, “Does it fit?” he replied, “Not a bit!”
    That uneasy Old Man of the West.

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    There was an Old Man of Marseilles,
    Whose daughters wore bottle-green veils: 
    They caught several Fish, which they put in a dish,
    And sent to their Pa at Marseilles.

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    There was an Old Man of the Wrekin,
    Whose shoes made a horrible creaking;
    But they said, “Tell us whether your shoes are of leather,
    Or of what, you Old Man of the Wrekin?”

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    There was a Young Lady whose nose
    Was so long that it reached to her toes;
    So she hired an Old Lady, whose conduct was steady,
    To carry that wonderful nose.

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    There was a Young Lady of Norway,
    Who casually sat in a doorway;
    When the door squeezed her flat, she exclaimed, “What of that?”
    This courageous Young Lady of Norway.

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    There was an Old Man of Apulia,
    Whose conduct was very peculiar;
    He fed twenty sons upon nothing but buns,
    That whimsical Man of Apulia.

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    There was an Old Man of Quebec,—­
    A beetle ran over his neck;
    But he cried, “With a needle I’ll slay you, O beadle!”
    That angry Old Man of Quebec.

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    There was a Young Lady of Bute,
    Who played on a silver-gilt flute;
    She played several jigs to her Uncle’s white Pigs: 
    That amusing Young Lady of Bute.

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    There was an Old Person of Philoe,
    Whose conduct was scroobious and wily;
    He rushed up a Palm when the weather was calm,
    And observed all the ruins of Philoe.

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    There was an Old Man with a poker,
    Who painted his face with red ochre. 
    When they said, “You ’re a Guy!” he made no reply,
    But knocked them all down with his poker.

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    There was an Old Person of Prague,
    Who was suddenly seized with the plague;
    But they gave him some butter, which caused him to mutter,
    And cured that Old Person of Prague.

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    There was an Old Man of Peru,
    Who watched his wife making a stew;
    But once, by mistake, in a stove she did bake
    That unfortunate Man of Peru.