Silly Verses for Kids, and English Students!

I was eight years old when I first read Spike Milliagan's "Silly Verses For Kids". It was my friend's copy. We used to read it together during playtime. I liked it so much I asked my parents to buy me a copy of the book, and eventually they did. I still have the book, many years later, in a box somewhere in the attic of my mother's house. Spike Milligan (1918-2002) was an Irish citizen who was one of Britain's best-loved comedians. He made radio and television shows, as well as writing books of verse and his war-time memoirs.

Last week I was about to teach an English class at a community centre in Hiroshima but I had not prepared anything to talk to them about.

Then, on the bus up to the community centre, I remembered Spike Milligan and some of his "silly verses". I immediately decided to teach the class three of the verses that I can still remember.

As it was a rainy day, the first verse I taught them was:

There are holes in the sky
where the rain gets in,
but they are ever so small,
that's why rain is thin.

Do you ever think about string? Funny stuff, isn't it. What is the difference between string and rope? Spike Milligan had the answer, and very philosophical it is too:

String
is a most peculiar thing.
Rope is thicker,
but string is quicker.

Here is my favourite verse by Spike Milligan. It is about a little girl called "Mary Pugh":

Mary Pugh was nearly two
when she went out of doors.
She went out standing up, she did,
and came back on all fours.
The moral of the story, please meditate and pause -
never send a baby out with loosely waisted drawers.

Language Notes for "Mary Pugh"
on all fours = crawl on hands and knees
meditate and pause = stop and think
loosely waisted = not tight around the waist
drawers = underpants

David Hurley
Succeed-In-English.com