The Fatuous Flower
Once on a time a BumblebeeAddressed a Sunflower. Said he:“Dear Sunflower, tell me is it trueWhat everybody says of you?”
Replied the Sunflower: “Tell me, pray,How should I know what people say?Why should I even care? No doubt’T is some ill-natured tale withoutA word of truth; but tell me, Bee,What is it people say of me?”“Oh, no!” the Bee made haste to add;“’T is really not so very bad.I got it from the Ant. She saidShe’d heard the Sun had turned your head,
And that whene’er he walks the skiesYou follow him with all your eyesFrom morn till eve--”“Oh, what a shame!”Exclaimed the Sunflower, aflame,“To say such things of me! They knowThe very opposite is so.
“They know full well that it is he--The Sun--who always follows me.I turn away my head untilI fear my stalk will break; and stillHe tags along from morn till night,Starting as soon as it is light,And never takes his eyes off meUntil it is too dark to see!They really ought to be ashamed.Soon they’ll be saying I was namedFor him, when well they know ’t was heWho took the name of Sun from me.”
The Sunflower paused, with anger dumb.The Bee said naught, but murmured, “H’m!”’T was very evident that heWas much impressed--this Bumblebee.He spread his wings at once and flewTo tell some other bees he knew,Who, being also much impressed,Said, “H’m!” and flew to tell the rest.
And now if you should chance to see,In field or grove, a Bumblebee,And hear him murmur, “H’m!” then youWill know what he’s alluding to.
Words in this poem
- bumblebee n.
- A large bee of the genus Bombus, sometimes called humblebee; -- so named from its sound. [OE. bumblen to make a humming noise (dim. of bum, v.i.) + bee. Cf. Humblebee.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- aflame adv.
- Inflames; glowing with light or passion; ablaze. G. Eliot. [Pref. a- + flame.]
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Fatuous Flower is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Bashful Earthquake, & Other Fables and Verses, Project Gutenberg ebook #56765; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Oliver Herford, The Fatuous Flower, in The Bashful Earthquake, and Other Fables and Verses (1898), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #56765, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/herford-bashful-earthquake/the-fatuous-flower.html, id L22118.
Form and metre
The Fatuous Flower is 45 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 89% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABB bumblebeeA · heA · trueB · youB
- 2 AABBCCDDEE prayA · sayA · doubtB · withoutB · beeC · meC · addD · badD · saidE · headE
- 3 AA-BBCC skiesA · eyesA · eve · shameB · aflameB · knowC · soC
- 4 AABBCCAADDAA heA · meA · untilB · stillB · nightC · lightC · meA · seeA · ashamedD · namedD · heA · meA
- 5 --AABBCC dumb · — · heA · bumblebeeA · flewB · knewB · impressedC · restC
- 6 AABB seeA · bumblebeeA · youB · toB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Once on a time a Bumblebee | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Addressed a Sunflower. Said he: | 8 | ˘/·/·˘·· |
| “Dear Sunflower, tell me is it true | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| What everybody says of you?” | 8 | ·/˘·˘··· |
| Replied the Sunflower: “Tell me, pray, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| How should I know what people say? | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Why should I even care? No doubt | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| ’T is some ill-natured tale without | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| A word of truth; but tell me, Bee, | 8 | ········ |
| What is it people say of me?” | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| “Oh, no!” the Bee made haste to add; | 8 | ········ |
| “’T is really not so very bad. | 9 | ··/˘··/˘· |
| I got it from the Ant. She said | 8 | ········ |
| She’d heard the Sun had turned your head, | 8 | ········ |
| And that whene’er he walks the skies | 9 | ········· |
| You follow him with all your eyes | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| From morn till eve--” | 4 | ···· |
| “Oh, what a shame!” | 4 | ···· |
| Exclaimed the Sunflower, aflame, | 8 | ˘/·/·˘˘/ |
| “To say such things of me! They know | 8 | ········ |
| The very opposite is so. | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| “They know full well that it is he-- | 8 | ········ |
| The Sun--who always follows me. | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| I turn away my head until | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| I fear my stalk will break; and still | 8 | ········ |
| He tags along from morn till night, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Starting as soon as it is light, | 8 | /˘······ |
| And never takes his eyes off me | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Until it is too dark to see! | 8 | ········ |
| They really ought to be ashamed. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Soon they’ll be saying I was named | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For him, when well they know ’t was he | 9 | ········· |
| Who took the name of Sun from me.” | 8 | ········ |
| The Sunflower paused, with anger dumb. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The Bee said naught, but murmured, “H’m!” | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| ’T was very evident that he | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| Was much impressed--this Bumblebee. | 8 | ··˘/·/˘˘ |
| He spread his wings at once and flew | 8 | ········ |
| To tell some other bees he knew, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Who, being also much impressed, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Said, “H’m!” and flew to tell the rest. | 8 | ········ |
| And now if you should chance to see, | 8 | ········ |
| In field or grove, a Bumblebee, | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| And hear him murmur, “H’m!” then you | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Will know what he’s alluding to. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
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