The Beginning of the Armadilloes
China-going P. and O.'sPass Pau Amma's playground close,And his Pusat Tasek liesNear the track of most B.I.'s.N.Y.K. and N.D.L.Know Pau Amma's home as wellAs the Fisher of the Sea knows'Bens,' M.M.'s, and Rubattinos.But (and this is rather queer)A.T.L.'s can not come here;O. and O. and D.O.A.Must go round another way.Orient, Anchor, Bibby, Hall,Never go that way at all.U.C.S. would have a fitIf it found itself on it.And if 'Beavers' took their cargoesTo Penang instead of Lagos,Or a fat Shaw-Savill borePassengers to Singapore,Or a White Star were to try aLittle trip to Sourabaya,Or a B.S.A. went onPast Natal to Cheribon,Then great Mr. Lloyds would comeWith a wire and drag them home!
You'll know what my riddle meansWhen you've eaten mangosteens.The Crab that Played with the Sea.
Pussy can sit by the fire and sing,Pussy can climb a tree,Or play with a silly old cork and stringTo 'muse herself, not me.But I like Binkie my dog, becauseHe knows how to behave;So, Binkie's the same as the First Friend was,And I am the Man in the Cave!
Pussy will play man-Friday tillIt's time to wet her pawAnd make her walk on the window-sill(For the footprint Crusoe saw);Then she fluffles her tail and mews,And scratches and won't attend.But Binkie will play whatever I choose,And he is my true First Friend!
Pussy will rub my knees with her headPretending she loves me hard;But the very minute I go to my bedPussy runs out in the yard,And there she stays till the morning-light;So I know it is only pretend;But Binkie, he snores at my feet all night,And he is my Firstest Friend!
There was never a Queen like Balkis,From here to the wide world's end;But Balkis talked to a butterflyAs you would talk to a friend.
There was never a King like Solomon,Not since the world began;But Solomon talked to a butterflyAs a man would talk to a man.
She was Queen of Sabaea--And he was Asia's Lord--But they both of 'em talked to butterfliesWhen they took their walks abroad!
The Butterfly that Stamped.
Words in this poem
- playground n.
- A piece of ground used for recreation; as, the playground of a school.
- shaw n.
- A thicket; a small wood or grove. [Obs. or Prov.Eng. & Scot.] [OE. schawe, scha, thicket, grove, AS. scaga; akin to Dan. skov, Sw. skog, Icel. sk.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- natal a.
- Of or pertaining to one's birth; accompying or dating from one's birth; native. [L. natalis, fr. natus, p.p. of nasci to be born: cf. F. natal. See Nation, and cf. Noel.]
- pussy n.
- A pet name for a cat; also, an endearing name for a girl. [Dim. of puss.]
- footprint n.
- The impression of the foot; a trace or footmark; as,
- mews n.
- An alley where there are stables; a narrow passage; a confined place. [Eng.] [Prop. pl. of mew. See Mew a cage.]
- solomon n.
- One of the kings of Israel, noted for his superior wisdom and magnificent reign; hence, a very wise man.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Beginning of the Armadilloes is in the public domain. This text is taken from Songs from Books, Project Gutenberg ebook #15529; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Rudyard Kipling, The Beginning of the Armadilloes, in Songs from Books (1912), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #15529, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/kipling-songs-from-books/the-beginning-of-the-armadilloes.html, id L20383.
Form and metre
The Beginning of the Armadilloes is 66 lines in 9 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, in 3 of the 9 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).
See 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 AA----A-BB-CDDEEA-FFC---GG o.'sA · closeA · lies · b.i.'s · — · well · knowsA · rubattinos · queerB · hereB · d.o.a · wayC · hallD · allD · fitE · itE · cargoesA · lagos · boreF · singaporeF · aC · sourabaya · on · cheribon · comeG · homeG
- 2 AA- meansA · mangosteensA · sea
- 3 ABABCDCD singA · treeB · stringA · meB · becauseC · behaveD · wasC · caveD
- 4 ABABCDCD tillA · pawB · sillA · sawB · mewsC · attendD · chooseC · friendD
- 5 ABABCDCD headA · hardB · bedA · yardB · lightC · pretendD · nightC · friendD
- 6 -A-A balkis · endA · butterfly · friendA
- 7 AA-A solomonA · beganA · butterfly · manA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| China-going P. and O.'s | 8 | /˘/˘···· |
| Pass Pau Amma's playground close, | 7 | ····/·· |
| And his Pusat Tasek lies | 7 | ······· |
| Near the track of most B.I.'s. | 8 | ········ |
| N.Y.K. and N.D.L. | 7 | ······· |
| Know Pau Amma's home as well | 7 | ······· |
| As the Fisher of the Sea knows | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| 'Bens,' M.M.'s, and Rubattinos. | 9 | ········· |
| But (and this is rather queer) | 7 | ····/˘· |
| A.T.L.'s can not come here; | 8 | ········ |
| O. and O. and D.O.A. | 7 | ······· |
| Must go round another way. | 7 | ···˘/˘· |
| Orient, Anchor, Bibby, Hall, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| Never go that way at all. | 7 | /˘····· |
| U.C.S. would have a fit | 7 | ······· |
| If it found itself on it. | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| And if 'Beavers' took their cargoes | 8 | ··/˘··/· |
| To Penang instead of Lagos, | 8 | ·/˘˘/·/˘ |
| Or a fat Shaw-Savill bore | 7 | ····˘/· |
| Passengers to Singapore, | 7 | /˘˘·/˘· |
| Or a White Star were to try a | 8 | ········ |
| Little trip to Sourabaya, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Or a B.S.A. went on | 7 | ······· |
| Past Natal to Cheribon, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Then great Mr. Lloyds would come | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| With a wire and drag them home! | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| You'll know what my riddle means | 7 | ····/˘· |
| When you've eaten mangosteens. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| The Crab that Played with the Sea. | 8 | ····˘··· |
| Pussy can sit by the fire and sing, | 9 | /˘····/·· |
| Pussy can climb a tree, | 6 | /˘···· |
| Or play with a silly old cork and string | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| To 'muse herself, not me. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| But I like Binkie my dog, because | 9 | ········· |
| He knows how to behave; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| So, Binkie's the same as the First Friend was, | 9 | ········· |
| And I am the Man in the Cave! | 8 | ········ |
| Pussy will play man-Friday till | 8 | /˘···/·· |
| It's time to wet her paw | 6 | ······ |
| And make her walk on the window-sill | 9 | ······/˘· |
| (For the footprint Crusoe saw); | 7 | ··/·/˘· |
| Then she fluffles her tail and mews, | 7 | ······· |
| And scratches and won't attend. | 7 | ·/˘··˘/ |
| But Binkie will play whatever I choose, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| And he is my true First Friend! | 7 | ······· |
| Pussy will rub my knees with her head | 9 | /˘······· |
| Pretending she loves me hard; | 7 | ˘/˘···· |
| But the very minute I go to my bed | 11 | ··/˘/˘····· |
| Pussy runs out in the yard, | 7 | /˘····· |
| And there she stays till the morning-light; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| So I know it is only pretend; | 9 | ·····/˘˘/ |
| But Binkie, he snores at my feet all night, | 10 | ·········· |
| And he is my Firstest Friend! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| There was never a Queen like Balkis, | 8 | ··/····· |
| From here to the wide world's end; | 7 | ······· |
| But Balkis talked to a butterfly | 9 | ······/˘· |
| As you would talk to a friend. | 7 | ······· |
| There was never a King like Solomon, | 9 | ··/···/˘˘ |
| Not since the world began; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| But Solomon talked to a butterfly | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| As a man would talk to a man. | 8 | ········ |
| She was Queen of Sabaea-- | 6 | ······ |
| And he was Asia's Lord-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But they both of 'em talked to butterflies | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| When they took their walks abroad! | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| The Butterfly that Stamped. | 7 | ·/˘···˘ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.