Nonsense Poems · Funny
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat
by Edward Lear · 1871
1The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
2In a beautiful pea-green boat;
3They took some honey, and plenty of money
4Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
5The Owl looked up to the moon above,
6And sang to a small guitar,
7"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love!
8What a beautiful Pussy you are,—
9You are,
10What a beautiful Pussy you are!"
11Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!
12How wonderful sweet you sing!
13Oh, let us be married,—too long we have tarried,—
14But what shall we do for a ring?"
15They sailed away for a year and a day
16To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
17And there in a wood a piggy-wig stood
18With a ring in the end of his nose,—
19His nose,
20With a ring in the end of his nose.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“The Owl and the Pussy-Cat” by Edward Lear — quilloak.com/poems/the-owl-and-the-pussycat
Quick facts
- Poem
- The Owl and the Pussy-Cat
- Poet
- Edward Lear
- Published
- 1871
- Length
- 23 lines
- Form
- Nonsense Poems, Ballad
- Themes
- Funny, For Kids, Love
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 23 lines · 3 stanzas of 3–10 lines
- Refrains
- “With a ring in the end of his nose,—”“With a ring in the end of his nose.”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Edward Lear1812–1888
- Source record
- WikisourceThe Owl and the Pussy-Cat by edward-lear, Wikisource transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- 1871
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 0a462a914a79354d…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.