Wednesday 3 February 2010

The Owl and the Pussycat

I think I first realised how cool cats were when I was three or four.

That's when my mum taught me the Edward Lear poem "The Owl and the Pussycat". I learned it off by heart. I would recite it to people and get more and more excited and shrill as it got towards the final line, and then would end it with a twirl as I said the words "then hand in hand on the edge of the sand, they danced by the light of the moon, THE MOON? They danced by the light of the moon".
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I had a book with the poem in and it showed a hand drawn picture of a beautiful black sleek cat lounging back against a cushion in a little rowing boat, eating something, perhaps "mince and pieces of quince", and looking up at the owl who was serenading her with a guitar, telling her how beautiful she was and somehow steering the boat all at the same time.

That cat really had it all worked out. I wanted to be that cat when I grew up. I never tried pieces of quince, and I certainly never had an owl serenade me.
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I think my version got the wrong kind of "fowl/foul"


2 comments:

  1. Great first post .....great introduction to you and your love of cats! Look forward to reading more!!

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  2. Love the Owl and the pussycat illustration and hearing about your party piece twirl at the end of your recitals
    Jo x

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