FATHER GOOSE

WILLOUGHBY WALLABY WOO

Willoughby, wallaby, woo.
I don’t know what to do.

Willoughby, wallaby, wee.
An elephant sat on me.

Willoughby, wallaby, wash.
I’m feeling kind of squash.

Willoughby, wallaby, woo.
And I don’t know what to do.

THE DREADFUL DOINGS OF JELLY BELLY

Jelly Belly bit
With a big fat bite.
Jelly Belly fought
With a big fat fight.

Jelly Belly scowled
With a big fat frown.
Jelly Belly yelled
Till his house fell down.

THE KITTY RAN UP THE TREE

The kitty ran up the tree,
The kitty ran up the tree,
Her nose went up
And her toes went up
And the kitty ran up the tree.

Why did she climb the tree?
To see what a kitty could see.
But all she could see
At the top of the tree
Was the tip of the top of the tree –

So –

The kitty came down the tree,
The kitty came down the tree,
Her nose came down
And her toes came down
And the kitty came down the tree.

BUMP ON YOUR THUMB

Who shall be king of the little kids’ swing?
Jimmy’s the king of the little kids’ swing
With a bump on your thumb
And a thump on your bum
And tickle my tum in Toronto.

Who shall see stars on the climbing bars?
Jimmy sees stars on the climbing bars
With a bump on your thumb
And a thump on your bum
And tickle my tum in Toronto.

And who shall come home with the night for his throne?
Jimmy’s come home with the night for his throne
With a bump on your thumb
And a thump on your bum
And tickle my tum in Toronto.

SKYSCRAPER

Skyscraper, skyscraper,
Scrape me some sky:
Tickle the sun
While the stars go by.

Tickle the stars
While the sun’s climbing high,
Then skyscraper, skyscraper
Scrape me some sky

Copyright: from Alligator Pie (HarperCollins, 2012), © Dennis Lee 1974, used by permission of the author and the publisher from Jelly Belly (Macmillan of Canada, 1983), © Dennis Lee 1983, used by permission of the author and the publisher

More about this poem

Dennis has lived all his life in Toronto in Canada, and you will hear his Canadian accent in his reading. When he was a child he loved ...

Learn more
Age Groups

Explore Similar Poems

Also by Dennis Lee

By Tags

Featured in the Archive

Close