A Milne - Now We Are Six

The King of Peru
(Who was Emperor too)
Had a sort of a rhyme
Which was useful to know,

If he felt very shy
When a stranger came by,
Or they asked him the time
When his watch didn’t go;
Or supposing he fell
(By mistake) down a well,

Or he tumbled when skating
And sat on his hat,
Or perhaps wasn’t told,
Till his porridge was cold,
That his breakfast was waiting
Or something like that;

Oh, whenever the Emperor
Got into a temper, or
Felt himself sulky or sad,
He would murmur and murmur,
Until he felt firmer,
This curious rhyme which he had:

Eight eights are sixty-four ;
Multiply by seven .
When it’s done ,
Carry one ,
And take away eleven .
Nine nines are eighty-one ;
Multiply by three .
If it’s more ,
Carry four ,
And then it’s time for tea .

So whenever the Queen
Took his armour to clean,
And she didn’t remember
To use any starch;
Or his birthday (in May)
Was a horrible day,
Being wet as November
And windy as March;
Or, if sitting in state
With the Wise and the Great,
He just happened to hiccup
While signing his name,
Or the Queen gave a cough,
When his crown tumbled off

As he bent down to pick up
A pen for the same;
Oh, whenever the Emperor
Got into a temper, or
Felt himself awkward and shy,
He would whisper and whisper,
Until he felt crisper,
This odd little rhyme to the sky:

Eight eights are eighty-one ;
Multiply by seven .
If it’s more ,
Carry four ,
And take away eleven .
Nine nines are sixty-four ;
Multiply by three .
When it’s done ,
Carry one ,
And then it’s time for tea .

Whenever I’m a shining Knight,
I buckle on my armour tight;
And then I look about for things,
Like Rushings-Out, and Rescuings,
And Savings from the Dragon’s Lair,
And fighting all the Dragons there.
And sometimes when our fights begin,
I think I’ll let the Dragons win…
And then I think perhaps I won’t,
Because they’re Dragons, and I don’t.

There’s sun on the river and sun on the hill ….
You can hear the sea if you stand quite still!
There’s eight new puppies at Roundabout Farm—
And I saw an old sailor with only one arm!
But every one says, “Run along!”
(Run along, run along!)
All of them say, “Run along! I’m busy as can be.”
Every one says, “Run along,
There’s a little darling!”
If I’m a little darling, why don’t they run with me?
There’s wind on the river and wind on the hill …
There’s a dark dead water-wheel under the mill!
I saw a fly which had just been drowned—
And I know where a rabbit goes into the ground!
But every one says, “Run along!”
(Run along, run along!)
All of them say, “Yes, dear,” and never notice me.
Every one says, “Run along,
There’s a little darling!”
If I’m a little darling, why won’t they come and see?

I’m fishing .
Don’t talk, anybody, don’t come near!
Can’t you see that the fish might hear?
He thinks I’m playing with a piece of string;
He thinks I’m another sort of funny sort of thing,
But he doesn’t know I’m fishing —
He doesn’t know I’m fishing .
That’s what I’m doing—
Fishing.


No, I’m not, I’m newting .
Don’t cough, anybody, don’t come by!
Any small noise makes a newt feel shy.
He thinks I’m a bush, or a new sort of tree;
He thinks it’s somebody, but doesn’t think it’s Me,
And he doesn’t know I’m newting—
No, he doesn’t know I’m newting .
That’s what I’m doing—
Newting.

Berryman and Baxter,
Prettiboy and Penn
And old Farmer Middleton
Are five big men…
And all of them were after
The Little Black Hen.
She ran quickly,
They ran fast;
Baxter was first, and
Berryman was last.
I sat and watched
By the old plum-tree…
She squawked through the hedge
And she came to me.

The Little Black Hen
Said “Oh, it’s you!”
I said “Thank you,
How do you do?
And please will you tell me,
Little Black Hen,
What did they want,
Those five big men?”

The Little Black Hen
She said to me:
“They want me to lay them
An egg for tea.
If they were Emperors,
If they were Kings.
I’m much too busy
To lay them things.”
“I’m not a King
And I haven’t a crown;
I climb up trees,
And I tumble down.
I can shut one eye,
I can count to ten,
So lay me an egg, please,
Little Black Hen.”
The Little Black Hen said,
“What will you pay,
If I lay you an egg
For Easter Day?”

“I’ll give you a Please
And a How-do-you-do,
I’ll show you the Bear
Who lives in the Zoo,
I’ll show you the nettle-place
On my leg,
If you’ll lay me a great big
Eastery egg.”
The Little Black Hen
Said “I don’t care
For a How-do-you-do
Or a Big-brown-bear,
But I’ll lay you a beautiful
Eastery egg,
If you’ll show me the nettle-place
On your leg.”
I showed her the place
Where I had my sting.
She touched it gently
With one black wing.
“Nettles don’t hurt
If you count to ten.
And now for the egg,”
Said the Little Black Hen.

When I wake up
On Easter Day,
I shall see my egg
She’s promised to lay.
If I were Emperors,
If I were Kings,
It couldn’t be fuller
Of wonderful things.

Berryman and Baxter,
Prettiboy and Penn,
And Old Farmer Middleton
Are five big men.
All of them are wanting
An egg for their tea,
But the Little Black Hen is much too busy,
The Little Black Hen is much too busy,
The Little Black Hen is MUCH too busy…
She’s laying my egg for me!