The King’s Breakfast
The King askedThe Queen, andThe Queen askedThe Dairymaid:“Could we have some butter forThe Royal slice of bread?”The Queen askedThe Dairymaid,The DairymaidSaid, “Certainly,I’ll go and tellThe cowNowBefore she goes to bed.”
The DairymaidShe curtsied,
And went and toldThe Alderney:“Don’t forget the butter forThe Royal slice of bread.”
The AlderneySaid sleepily:“You’d better tellHis MajestyThat many people nowadaysLike marmaladeInstead.”
The DairymaidSaid, “Fancy!”And went toHer MajestyShe curtsied to the Queen, andShe turned a little red:“Excuse me,Your Majesty,For taking ofThe liberty,But marmalade is tasty, ifIt’s veryThicklySpread.”
The Queen said“Oh!”And went toHis Majesty:“Talking of the butter forThe Royal slice of bread,Many peopleThink thatMarmaladeIs nicer.Would you like to try a littleMarmaladeInstead?”
The King said,“Bother!”And then he said,“Oh, deary me!”The King sobbed, “Oh, deary me!”And went back to bed.“Nobody,”He whimpered,“Could call meA fussy man;I only wantA little bitOf butter forMy bread!”
The Queen said,“There, there!”And went toThe Dairymaid.The DairymaidSaid, “There, there!”And went to the shed.The cow said,“There, there!I didn’t reallyMean it;Here’s milk for his porringerAnd butter for his bread.”
The Queen tookThe butterAnd brought it toHis Majesty;The King said,“Butter, eh?”And bounced out of bed.“Nobody,” he said,As he kissed herTenderly,“Nobody,” he said,As he slid downThe banisters,“Nobody,My darling,Could call meA fussy man—
BUT
“I do like a little bit of butter to my bread!”
Words in this poem
- dairymaid n.
- A female servant whose business is the care of the dairy.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- alderney n.
- One of a breed of cattle raised in Alderney, one of the Channel Islands. Alderneys are of a dun or tawny color and are often called Jersey cattle. See Jersey, 3.
- sleepily adv.
- In a sleepy manner; drowsily.
- nowadays adv.
- In these days; at the present time. [For now on (OE. an) days. See A-, 1.]
- tasty a.
- Having a good taste; -- applied to persons; as, a tasty woman. See Taste, n., 5.
- deary n.
- A dear; a darling. [Familiar]
- nobody n.
- No person; no one; not anybody. [No, a. + body.]
- fussy a.
- Making a fuss; disposed to make an unnecessary ado about trifles; overnice; fidgety.
- porringer n.
- A porridge dish; esp., a bowl or cup from which children eat or are fed; as, a silver porringer. [OE. pottanger, for pottager; cf. F. potager a soup basin. See Porridge.]
- tenderly adv.
- In a tender manner; with tenderness; mildly; gently; softly; in a manner not to injure or give pain; with pity or affection; kindly.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The King’s Breakfast is in the public domain. This text is taken from When We Were Very Young, Project Gutenberg ebook #70271; 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, The King’s Breakfast, in When We Were Very Young (1924), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #70271, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/milne-when-we-were-very-young/the-kings-breakfast.html, id L27198.
Form and metre
The King’s Breakfast is 100 lines in 11 stanzas. The metre is iambic dimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%).
See other poems in iambic dimeter.
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 A-AB-CABB--DDC askedA · and · askedA · dairymaidB · for · breadC · askedA · dairymaidB · dairymaidB · certainly · tell · cowD · nowD · bedC
- 5 ---A-B-A-----B dairymaid · fancy · to · majestyA · and · redB · me · majestyA · of · liberty · if · very · thickly · spreadB
- 6 A----A--B--BA saidA · oh · to · majesty · for · breadA · people · that · marmaladeB · nicer · little · marmaladeB · insteadA
- 7 A-ABBABAB----A saidA · bother · saidA · meB · meB · bedA · nobodyB · whimperedA · meB · man · want · bit · for · breadA
- 8 AB-CCBAAB---A saidA · thereB · to · dairymaidC · dairymaidC · thereB · shedA · saidA · thereB · really · it · porringer · breadA
- 9 ----A-AA--A--B-B- took · butter · to · majesty · saidA · eh · bedA · saidA · her · tenderly · saidA · down · banisters · nobodyB · darling · meB · man
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 dimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The King asked | 3 | ··· |
| The Queen, and | 3 | ··· |
| The Queen asked | 3 | ··· |
| The Dairymaid: | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| “Could we have some butter for | 7 | ····/˘· |
| The Royal slice of bread?” | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The Queen asked | 3 | ··· |
| The Dairymaid, | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| The Dairymaid | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| Said, “Certainly, | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| I’ll go and tell | 4 | ···· |
| The cow | 2 | ·· |
| Now | 1 | · |
| Before she goes to bed.” | 6 | ······ |
| The Dairymaid | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| She curtsied, | 2 | ·· |
| And went and told | 4 | ···· |
| The Alderney: | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| “Don’t forget the butter for | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| The Royal slice of bread.” | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The Alderney | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| Said sleepily: | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| “You’d better tell | 4 | ·/˘· |
| His Majesty | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| That many people nowadays | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Like marmalade | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Instead.” | 2 | ˘/ |
| The Dairymaid | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| Said, “Fancy!” | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And went to | 3 | ··· |
| Her Majesty | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| She curtsied to the Queen, and | 6 | ······ |
| She turned a little red: | 7 | ··˘·/˘· |
| “Excuse me, | 3 | ˘/· |
| Your Majesty, | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| For taking of | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The liberty, | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| But marmalade is tasty, if | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| It’s very | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Thickly | 2 | /˘ |
| Spread.” | 1 | · |
| The Queen said | 3 | ··· |
| “Oh!” | 1 | · |
| And went to | 3 | ··· |
| His Majesty: | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| “Talking of the butter for | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| The Royal slice of bread, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Many people | 4 | /˘/˘ |
| Think that | 2 | ·· |
| Marmalade | 3 | /˘· |
| Is nicer. | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Would you like to try a little | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Marmalade | 3 | /˘· |
| Instead?” | 2 | ˘/ |
| The King said, | 3 | ··· |
| “Bother!” | 2 | /˘ |
| And then he said, | 4 | ···· |
| “Oh, deary me!” | 4 | ·/˘· |
| The King sobbed, “Oh, deary me!” | 8 | ···˘·/˘· |
| And went back to bed. | 5 | ····· |
| “Nobody,” | 3 | /·· |
| He whimpered, | 3 | ·/˘ |
| “Could call me | 3 | ··· |
| A fussy man; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| I only want | 4 | ·/˘· |
| A little bit | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Of butter for | 4 | ·/˘· |
| My bread!” | 2 | ·· |
| The Queen said, | 3 | ··· |
| “There, there!” | 2 | ·· |
| And went to | 3 | ··· |
| The Dairymaid. | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| The Dairymaid | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| Said, “There, there!” | 3 | ··· |
| And went to the shed. | 5 | ····· |
| The cow said, | 3 | ··· |
| “There, there! | 2 | ·· |
| I didn’t really | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Mean it; | 2 | ·· |
| Here’s milk for his porringer | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| And butter for his bread.” | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The Queen took | 3 | ··· |
| The butter | 3 | ·/˘ |
| And brought it to | 4 | ···· |
| His Majesty; | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| The King said, | 3 | ··· |
| “Butter, eh?” | 3 | /˘· |
| And bounced out of bed. | 5 | ····· |
| “Nobody,” he said, | 5 | /···· |
| As he kissed her | 4 | ···· |
| Tenderly, | 3 | /˘˘ |
| “Nobody,” he said, | 5 | /···· |
| As he slid down | 4 | ···· |
| The banisters, | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| “Nobody, | 3 | /·· |
| My darling, | 3 | ·/˘ |
| Could call me | 3 | ··· |
| A fussy man— | 4 | ·/˘· |
| BUT | 1 | · |
| “I do like a little bit of butter to my bread!” | 13 | ····/˘··/˘··· |
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.