Twice Times

A. A. Milne (1882–1956) · 1927

iambic pentameter · AABB · 31 lines · from Now We Are Six

There were Two little Bears who lived in a Wood,And one of them was Bad and the other was Good.Good Bear learnt his Twice Times One—But Bad Bear left all his buttons undone.

They lived in a Tree when the weather was hot,And one of them was Good, and the other was Not.Good Bear learnt his Twice Times Two—But Bad Bear's thingummies were worn right through.

They lived in a Cave when the weather was cold,And they Did, and they Didn't Do, what they were told.Good Bear learnt his Twice Times Three—But Bad Bear never had his hand-ker-chee.

They lived in the Wood with a Kind Old Aunt,And one said "Yes'm," and the other said "Shan't!"Good Bear learnt his Twice Times Four—But Bad Bear's knicketies were terrible tore.

And then quite suddenly (just like Us)One got Better and the other got Wuss.Good Bear muddled his Twice Times Three—But Bad Bear coughed in his hand-ker-chee!

Good Bear muddled his Twice Times Two—But Bad Bear's thingummies looked like new.Good Bear muddled his Twice Times One—But Bad Bear never left his buttons undone.

There may be a Moral, though some say not;I think there's a moral, though I don't know what.But if one gets better, as the other gets wuss,These Two Little Bears are just like Us.For Christopher remembers up to Twice Times Ten....But I keep forgetting where I've put my pen.²

² So I have had to write this one in pencil.

Words in this poem

undone a.: Not done or performed; neglected. [Pref. un- not + done.]
tore n.: The dead grass that remains on mowing land in winter and spring. Mortimer. [Probably from the root of tear; cf. W. tór a break, cut, tóri to break, cut.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Twice Times 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, Twice Times, in Now We Are Six (1927), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70516, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/milne-now-we-are-six/twice-times.html, id L27245.

Form and metre

Twice Times is 31 lines in 8 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 6 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 71%).

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 AABB wood^A · good^A · one^B · undone^B
2 AABB hot^A · not^A · two^B · through^B
3 AABB cold^A · told^A · three^B · chee^B
4 AABB aunt^A · shan't^A · four^B · tore^B
5 AABB us^A · wuss^A · three^B · chee^B
6 AABB two^A · new^A · one^B · undone^B
7 --AABB not · what · wuss^A · us^A · ten^B · pen.²^B

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
There were Two little Bears who lived in a Wood,	11	···/˘······
And one of them was Bad and the other was Good.	12	········/˘··
Good Bear learnt his Twice Times One—	7	·······
But Bad Bear left all his buttons undone.	10	······/˘˘/
They lived in a Tree when the weather was hot,	11	·······/˘··
And one of them was Good, and the other was Not.	12	········/˘··
Good Bear learnt his Twice Times Two—	7	·······
But Bad Bear's thingummies were worn right through.	9	·········
They lived in a Cave when the weather was cold,	11	·······/˘··
And they Did, and they Didn't Do, what they were told.	12	·····/˘·····
Good Bear learnt his Twice Times Three—	7	·······
But Bad Bear never had his hand-ker-chee.	9	···/·····
They lived in the Wood with a Kind Old Aunt,	10	··········
And one said "Yes'm," and the other said "Shan't!"	10	······/˘··
Good Bear learnt his Twice Times Four—	7	·······
But Bad Bear's knicketies were terrible tore.	9	······/˘·
And then quite suddenly (just like Us)	8	···/˘···
One got Better and the other got Wuss.	10	··/˘··/˘··
Good Bear muddled his Twice Times Three—	8	··/˘····
But Bad Bear coughed in his hand-ker-chee!	9	·········
Good Bear muddled his Twice Times Two—	8	··/˘····
But Bad Bear's thingummies looked like new.	8	········
Good Bear muddled his Twice Times One—	8	··/˘····
But Bad Bear never left his buttons undone.	10	···/··/˘˘/
There may be a Moral, though some say not;	10	····/˘····
I think there's a moral, though I don't know what.	11	····/˘·····
But if one gets better, as the other gets wuss,	12	····/˘··/˘··
These Two Little Bears are just like Us.	9	··/˘·····
For Christopher remembers up to Twice Times Ten....	11	·/˘˘/˘·····
But I keep forgetting where I've put my pen.²	11	···˘/˘·····
² So I have had to write this one in pencil.	11	·········/˘

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.

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