Based on the poem by Edward Lear. a cat lady sits alone in the
jungle. Strange creatures twitter and hum.
Suddenly a warning cry is
heard
"The Cummerbund is come".
THE CUMMERBUND
She sat upon her Dobie, To watch the Evening Star, And all the Punkahs as they passed, Cried, "My! how fair you are! Around her bower, with quivering leaves, The tall Kamsamahs grew, And Kitmutgars in wild festoons Hung down from Tchokis blue. Below her home the river rolled With soft Meloobious sound, Where golden-finned Chuprassies swam, In myriads circling round. Above, on tallest trees remote Green Ayahs perched alone, And all night long the Mussak moan'd Its melancholy tone. And where the purple Nullahs threw Their branches far and wide, And silvery Goreewallahs flew In silence, side by side, The little Bheesties' flagrant air, And of the angry Jampan howled Deep in his hateful lair. She sat upon her Dobie, She heard the Nimmak hum, When all at once a cry arose, "The Cummerbund is come!" In vain she fled; - with open jaws The angry monster followed, And so, ( before assistance came,) The Lady Fair was swallowed. They sought in vain for even a bone Respectfully to bury, They said, "Hers was a dreadful fate! (And Echo answered "Very." They nailed her Dobie to the wall, Where last her form was seen, And underneath they wrote these words, In yellow, blue, and green:-
"Beware, ye Fair! Ye Fair, beware! Nor sit out late at night, - Lest horrid Cummerbunds should come, And swallow you outright.
Note. - First published in Times of India, Bombay, July, 1874. By Edward Lear.
My friend from India who has his own fabulous websitesover there. You will see contacts for him all over the Castle and Dreamland. He sent me this email, when he read that I had placed the poem on this site.
HERE IS HIS EMAIL FOR YOU TO READ.
Thank you for the poem Dorothy. (My Posh Name) Do you understand it all? Because more than
half the words used are Hindi. Cuumarbandh means a belt or a wide sash. The picture
on the banner is my fathers (As this site was originally started to publish
his philosophy of life!). The picture on the right is a fantastic sculpture
in granite that stands in front of the Patna Secretariat. It depicts
India's freedom struggle and the march to Delhi against British Rule.
Interesting? Wishing you all the best weatherwise, otherwise and anywise,
best regards, dadazi
Isn't that a wonderful message, it is so good to talk to the people who do the same thing as yourself, which is of course trying to keep the children of the world happy. Hooray for dadazi and seli.
This poem by Edward Lear is also on the Gutenberg site
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
THE STORM IN THE POOL
"Ah! it's a weary world," sighed Mrs Newt, shaking her head, and
waggling her tail mournfully in a small puddle - all that was left of
the home pond after the long summer drought.
Even the stone she sat on was uncomfortably hot although it was late in
the afternoon, and the long shadows from the chestnut tre were
spreading over the baked mud of the dried up pond. It was
just the time of day when Mrs Newt usually enjoyed a good gossip with
Mrs Frog but the long hot day had made her peevish. Even the news that
the Toad baby has pushed little Wog-wog, Mrs Frog's favourite child-
off his pebble, "and he hardly more than a tadpole, poor mite!" only
made Mrs Newt more depressed. "Ah! things aren't what they
were in my young day," she moaned. "No discipline, that's what is
wrong. Too much of this new fangled self expression. What we are all coming to, I
don't know." And she slid down into the water to slap all the little
Newts, just incase they needed it. This made her feel much more
cheerful, so she p[opped up again quite hopefully to hear the latest
scandal about the young Croaker, the gay young bachelor of the pond,
and "no better than he should be!" It was such a spicy tale, "so very shocking," that Mrs Newt did not notice the first few heavy drops of rain from the thunder-cloud overhead.
The long drought was over at last; the rain was falling now, not in big
drops, but sheets. The pond was soon a whirlpool full to overflowing.
Mrs Newt was washed off her stone, Mrs Frog also.
The little Newts came to the surface struggling and calling for help as
the flood bore them away to the other side of the pond. Their mother
screamed to them to keep their heads although what they really needed
was to keep their feet, for they were being washed steadily - in
spite of their struggles towards the yawning black mouth of a large
drain. Just as it seemed nothing could save them, even
disciplined! young Croaker (who had been idling neat the side of the
drain side of the pond) jumped into the reed canoe, and with a few
strong strokes of his paddle he was at the drain's mouth before the
frightened little Newts, and he skillfully blocked the entrance just
in time. He soon had each of the infants safely hauled up into his
boat. There they had to remain until the rain ceased, and
the pond, quite a lake by this time, was calm enough to allow Croaker
to paddle home against the curent.
Mrs Newt was very thankful to have her dear children safely back
again, although she smacked them all round for being the cause of her
fright. Later, Mrs Newt said to Mrs Frog, " that it all went
to show how necessary it was to keep one's head, for the children were
not what they were in her young days, and they all needed discipline.
To
accompany everyone on their journey through life into the
wonderful world of food and drink that you could eat even if you
weren't very, very hungry. Seligor has searched around the wonderful
You tube and found some beautiful Sea Shanties, My mum (Seligor) used
to teach me these songs when I was a little girl. Her elder sisters
even taught me how to do the Hornpipe.
Enjoy the songs
Seligor chose for you and say thanks to the
people who put the video's together, I wish I could do them for
myself... maybe one day eh! Take care, Diddily Dee Dot. xxx
JUST CLICK ON ^ THE DVD SLOT NEXT TO START ON VIDEO BOX IF THE "ERROR" SLOGAN SHOWS, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH VIDEO
These are a few of the songs for you to watch and listen too. among the treasures of the deep are:
Santy Anna. Haul Away for Rosie. Go to Sea Once More.
Muppet Sea Chanty! The Pigs Calypso. Horizon Tides. Magic Dance.
don't know." And she slid down into the water to slap all the little
Newts, just incase they needed it. This made her feel much more
cheerful, so she p[opped up again quite hopefully to hear the latest
scandal about the young Croaker, the gay young bachelor of the pond,
and "no better than he should be!"
The little Newts came to the surface struggling and calling for help as
the flood bore them away to the other side of the pond. Their mother
screamed to them to keep their heads although what they really needed
was to keep their feet, for they were being washed steadily - in
spite of their struggles towards the yawning black mouth of a large
drain.
The Pigs Calypso.