XPost: rec.puzzles, alt.usage.english
From: HenHanna@NewsGrouper
James Dow Allen posted:
>
> HenHanna@NewsGrouper posted:
>
> Spoiler Warning:
> As Spoiler Warning Space I post "Fit the First" from "Hunting the Snark":
>
>
>
> "Just the place for a Snark!" the Bellman cried,
> As he landed his crew with care;
> Supporting each man on the top of the tide
> By a finger entwined in his hair.
>
> "Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
> That alone should encourage the crew.
> Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
> What I tell you three times is true."
>
> The crew was complete: it included a Boots--
> A maker of Bonnets and Hoods--
> A Barrister, brought to arrange their disputes--
> And a Broker, to value their goods.
>
> A Billiard-marker, whose skill was immense,
> Might perhaps have won more than his share--
> But a Banker, engaged at enormous expense,
> Had the whole of their cash in his care.
>
> There was also a Beaver, that paced on the deck,
> Or would sit making lace in the bow:
> And had often (the Bellman said) saved them from wreck,
> Though none of the sailors knew how.
>
> There was one who was famed for the number of things
> He forgot when he entered the ship:
> His umbrella, his watch, all his jewels and rings,
> And the clothes he had bought for the trip.
>
> He had forty-two boxes, all carefully packed,
> With his name painted clearly on each:
> But, since he omitted to mention the fact,
> They were all left behind on the beach.
>
> The loss of his clothes hardly mattered, because
> He had seven coats on when he came,
> With three pairs of boots--but the worst of it was,
> He had wholly forgotten his name.
>
> He would answer to "Hi!" or to any loud cry,
> Such as "Fry me!" or "Fritter my wig!"
> To "What-you-may-call-um!" or "What-was-his-name!"
> But especially "Thing-um-a-jig!"
>
> While, for those who preferred a more forcible word,
> He had different names from these:
> His intimate friends called him "Candle-ends,"
> And his enemies "Toasted-cheese."
>
> "His form is ungainly--his intellect small--"
> (So the Bellman would often remark)
> "But his courage is perfect! And that, after all,
> Is the thing that one needs with a Snark."
>
> He would joke with hyenas, returning their stare
> With an impudent wag of the head:
> And he once went a walk, paw-in-paw, with a bear,
> "Just to keep up its spirits," he said.
>
> He came as a Baker: but owned, when too late--
> And it drove the poor Bellman half-mad--
> He could only bake Bridecake--for which, I may state,
> No materials were to be had.
>
> The last of the crew needs especial remark,
> Though he looked an incredible dunce:
> He had just one idea--but, that one being "Snark,"
> The good Bellman engaged him at once.
>
> He came as a Butcher: but gravely declared,
> When the ship had been sailing a week,
> He could only kill Beavers. The Bellman looked scared,
> And was almost too frightened to speak:
>
> But at length he explained, in a tremulous tone,
> There was only one Beaver on board;
> And that was a tame one he had of his own,
> Whose death would be deeply deplored.
>
> The Beaver, who happened to hear the remark,
> Protested, with tears in its eyes,
> That not even the rapture of hunting the Snark
> Could atone for that dismal surprise!
>
> It strongly advised that the Butcher should be
> Conveyed in a separate ship:
> But the Bellman declared that would never agree
> With the plans he had made for the trip:
>
> Navigation was always a difficult art,
> Though with only one ship and one bell:
> And he feared he must really decline, for his part,
> Undertaking another as well.
>
> The Beaver's best course was, no doubt, to procure
> A second-hand dagger-proof coat--
> So the Baker advised it--and next, to insure
> Its life in some Office of note:
>
> This the Banker suggested, and offered for hire
> (On moderate terms), or for sale,
> Two excellent Policies, one Against Fire,
> And one Against Damage From Hail.
>
> Yet still, ever after that sorrowful day,
> Whenever the Butcher was by,
> The Beaver kept looking the opposite way,
> And appeared unaccountably shy.
>
> ================ End of spoiler space ==============
>
>
> > sneaky insect
> SLY FLY
>
> > humorous rabbit
> FUNNY BUNNY
>
> > happy boy
> GLAD LAD
>
> > muscular tune
> STRONG SONG
>
> > close fright
> NEAR FEAR
>
> > paint leak
> ???????
>
> > reptile reverberation
> SNAKE SHAKE
was thinking of.... Gecko Echo
>
> > sour flatulence
> TART FART
> >
> > Expert Outmigration
> ??? GENIUS EXODUS ?
Brain Drain
>
> > Wonderful Condiment
> ??? RELISHED RELISH ? :-)
Nice Spice
>
> > Superb Bonbon
> > Faster Alcohol
> THE SOLUTIONS to these last two form a famous poem by Ogden Nash.
>
> Cheers,
> James
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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