The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea

In a beautiful pea-green boat,

They took some honey, and plenty of money

Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,

And sang to a small guitar,

"O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,

What a beautiful Pussy you are,

You are

You are!

What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!

How charmingly sweet you sing!

O let us be married! too long we have tarried:

But what shall we do for a ring?"

They sailed away, for a year and a day,

To the land where the Bont-tree grows

And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood

With a ring at the end of his nose,

His nose,

His nose,

With a ring at the end of his nose.

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling

your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."

So they took it away, and were married next day

By the Turkey who lives on the hill.

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,

Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,

They danced by the light of the moon,

The moon,

The moon,

They danced by the light of the moon.

C. Jan Brett


I liked this poem because the poem tells a story like a fairy tale.
The owl and cat are expressed in the poem like real human-beings.
The poem is pretty easy to read for me, so it might be seemed enjoyable and easy for children too. I love this poem.

In a beautiful pea-green boat, for me, is said as if the animals in the poem are humans. For us, if we say that it's a pea-green boat, than it means that it's green, but in my opinion, it meant how peaceful and small they were like a pea. Not exactly similar size as pea, but similar.

But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bont-tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,

This part shows their journey to the other land to find their rings to get married.

I think it means how the people take a time until they get married.

Also it is like a journey to the people when they prepare for their marriage because the situation changed compare to the past. The piggy-wig maybe means the little bit of happiness that is found before the marriage.

So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill. This line tells us the main topic of the story. The two animals take a journey for their rings and now they are getting married. By the sentence, "who lives on the hill", I think it means how they climbed up with difficulty, but they didn't give up. Even after the journey for a long time, they didn't give up. It probably leaves a message saying, that us, humans, should endure until we get to the top. Like the animals described in the poem, people should take a time until they find happiness and climb up to the top together.