Tales of the Perilous Lands

Captain Bing

Captain Bing was a Pirate King,
And sailed the broad seas o`er;
On many a lark he sailed his bark
Where none had sailed before,
And filled his hold so full of gold
That it would hold no more.

The sea was smooth, and so, forsooth,
They took a bit of leisure,
And all the crew good men and true
A hornpipe dance for pleasure
And had their fling, while Captain Bing
Kept watch above the treasure.

The wind it blew, and all the crew
Were sorry that it blew so;
If they were wrecked they might expect
To share the fate of Crusoe,
And ride the spars like jolly tars--
All shipwrecked men must do so.

The gale it roared, and all on board
Began to say their prayers,
And Captain Bing commenced to sing,
To drown his many cares
But when he found that he had drowned,
It took him unawares.

- Lyman Frank Baum: Father Goose, His Book, 1900

THE KING OF OO-RINKTUM-JING

DAINTY Baby Austin!
Your Daddy's gone to Boston

To see the King

Of Oo-Rinktum-Jing
And the whale he rode acrost on!

Boston Town's a city:
But it's such a pity!

They'll greet the King

Of Oo-Rinktum-Jing
With never a nursery ditty!

But me and you and Mother
Can stay with Baby-brother,

And sing of the King

Of Oo-Rinktum-Jing
And laugh at one another!

So what cares Baby Austin
If Daddy has gone to Boston

To see the King

Of Oo-Rinktum-Jing
And the whale he rode acrost on?

-James Whitcomb Riley, 1894


The Holly Tree

Highty, tighty, paradighty clothed in green,
The king could not read it, no more could the queen;
They sent for a wise man out of the East,
Who said it had horns, but was not a beast!