Pinkle Purr
Tattoo was the mother of Pinkle Purr,A little black nothing of feet and fur;And by-and-by, when his eyes came through,He saw his mother, the big Tattoo.And all that he learned he learned from her."I'll ask my mother," says Pinkle Purr.
Tattoo was the mother of Pinkle Purr,A ridiculous kitten with silky fur.And little black Pinkle grew and grewTill he got as big as the big Tattoo.And all that he did he did with her."Two friends together," says Pinkle Purr.
Tattoo was the mother of Pinkle Purr,An adventurous cat in a coat of fur.And whenever he thought of a thing to do,He didn't much bother about Tattoo,For he knows its nothing to do with her,So "See you later," says Pinkle Purr.
Tattoo is the mother of Pinkle Purr,An enormous leopard with coal-black fur.A little brown kitten that's nearly newIs now playing games with its big Tattoo....And Pink looks lazily down at her:"Dear little Tat," says Pinkle Purr.
Words in this poem
- purr v. i.
- To murmur as a cat. See Pur.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Pinkle Purr is in the public domain. This text is taken from Now We Are Six, Project Gutenberg ebook #70516; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: A. A. Milne, Pinkle Purr, in Now We Are Six (1927), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70516, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/milne-now-we-are-six/pinkle-purr.html, id L27249.
Form and metre
Pinkle Purr is 24 lines in 4 stanzas of 6 lines each. Every stanza rhymes AABBAA. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 75%).
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 AABBAA purrA · furA · throughB · tattooB · herA · purrA
- 2 AABBAA purrA · furA · grewB · tattooB · herA · purrA
- 3 AABBAA purrA · furA · doB · tattooB · herA · purrA
- 4 AABBAA purrA · furA · newB · tattooB · herA · purrA
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Tattoo was the mother of Pinkle Purr, | 10 | ˘/··/˘···· |
| A little black nothing of feet and fur; | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| And by-and-by, when his eyes came through, | 9 | ········· |
| He saw his mother, the big Tattoo. | 9 | ···/˘··˘/ |
| And all that he learned he learned from her. | 10 | ·····˘···· |
| "I'll ask my mother," says Pinkle Purr. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Tattoo was the mother of Pinkle Purr, | 10 | ˘/··/˘···· |
| A ridiculous kitten with silky fur. | 10 | ·˘/˘/˘·/˘· |
| And little black Pinkle grew and grew | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Till he got as big as the big Tattoo. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| And all that he did he did with her. | 9 | ········· |
| "Two friends together," says Pinkle Purr. | 9 | ··˘/˘···· |
| Tattoo was the mother of Pinkle Purr, | 10 | ˘/··/˘···· |
| An adventurous cat in a coat of fur. | 10 | ·˘/˘······ |
| And whenever he thought of a thing to do, | 11 | ·˘/˘······· |
| He didn't much bother about Tattoo, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘··˘/ |
| For he knows its nothing to do with her, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| So "See you later," says Pinkle Purr. | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Tattoo is the mother of Pinkle Purr, | 10 | ˘/··/˘···· |
| An enormous leopard with coal-black fur. | 10 | ·˘/˘/˘···· |
| A little brown kitten that's nearly new | 10 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘· |
| Is now playing games with its big Tattoo.... | 10 | ··/˘····˘/ |
| And Pink looks lazily down at her: | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| "Dear little Tat," says Pinkle Purr. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
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.