"And they are very old.
My father's thirty, I've been told!"
II.—SUPPOSING
Supposing one had been
Shut up in Noah's Ark
(During the flood, I mean)—
It would have been a lark!
The animals, you know,
Were not as they are now;
Quite different long ago—
Just see this purple cow!
The lion, it seems, was pink,
The bears and tigers too,
While zebras had, I think,
Most lovely stripes of blue.
But really, I forget,
For now the stripes are faint,
In my own Noah's Ark set
I once licked off the paint.
At least, so I am told
(A stupid thing to do!
But I was not so old
Then—only half-past two).
Noah's sons—just look at Ham,
Japhet, of course, and Shem!
I think I really am
Glad I don't look like them!
