by Theodor Geisel
Did I ever tell you that Mrs. McCave
Had twenty-three sons and she named them all Dave?
Well, she did. And that wasn't a smart thing to do.
You see, when she wants one and calls out, "Yoo-Hoo!
Come into the house, Dave!" she doesn't get one.
All twenty-three Daves of hers come on the run!
This makes things quite difficult at the McCaves'
As you can imagine, with so many Daves.
And often she wishes that, when they were born,
She had named one of them Bodkin Van Horn
And one of them Hoos-Foos. And one of them Snimm.
And one of them Hot-Shot. And one Sunny Jim.
And one of them Shadrack. And one of them Blinkey.
And one of them Stuffy. And one of them Stinkey.
Another one Putt-Putt. Another one Moon Face.
Another one Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face.
And one of them Ziggy. And one Soggy Muff.
One Buffalo Bill. And one Biffalo Buff.
And one of them Sneepy. And one Weepy Weed.
And one Paris Garters. And one Harris Tweed.
And one of them Sir Michael Carmichael Zutt
And one of them Oliver Boliver Butt
And one of them Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate ...
But she didn't do it. And now it's too late.
that's my absolute favorite Dr. Seuss poem...
I don't think there's anything more fun to read aloud - my kids used to get mad at me because I would read that over and over- and try to say it all in one breath without a pause- and they'd be like 'mom-please can we move on and read the rest of the Sneetch book...sort of the opposite of how most kids make the adults read the same thing over and over
Quote:
And often she wishes that, when they were born,
She had named one of them Bodkin Van Horn
And one of them Hoos-Foos. And one of them Snimm.
And one of them Hot-Shot. And one Sunny Jim.
And one of them Shadrack. And one of them Blinkey.
And one of them Stuffy. And one of them Stinkey.
Another one Putt-Putt. Another one Moon Face.
Another one Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face.
And one of them Ziggy. And one Soggy Muff.
One Buffalo Bill. And one Biffalo Buff.
And one of them Sneepy. And one Weepy Weed.
And one Paris Garters. And one Harris Tweed.
And one of them Sir Michael Carmichael Zutt
And one of them Oliver Boliver Butt
And one of them Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate
Yeah - I like David for a boy - beautiful name with a beautiful meaning - beloved. I also like Nicholas and Jacob - but all three of those names were used for my nephews before I had a son.
Paul is good in American English - but when a Brit says it, it sounds almost like they're saying 'Pole'- not that there's anything wrong with that - just sayin....
Well we were at a baseball game in England and the guy named Paul was up at bat and they started yelling, 'Pole, pole...and I was thinking, because I didn't know his name yet, that that was some sort of British baseball term for homerun - you know like, 'Hit it to the north pole...' or something like that...
So I asked and then they said no - that's the guy's name - (Pole)Paul- and I said, Oh you mean Paul - as I say it- and they started making fun of me and saying, 'Pall, pall...'
Well, my name is Pamela, as in PamELA. But I get Pam, Pammie, Pambla, Pamella, Pambela, Pameela, Pamula, Pamla, Pamra - lots of immigrants where I've lived and worked who can't say my name.
