The Funny Little Fellow
'Twas a Funny Little FellowOf the very purest type,For he had a heart as mellowAs an apple over-ripe;And the brightest little twinkleWhen a funny thing occurred,And the lightest little tinkleOf a laugh you ever heard!
His smile was like the glitterOf the sun in tropic lands,And his talk a sweeter twitterThan the swallow understands;Hear him sing--and tell a story--Snap a joke--ignite a pun,--'Twas a capture--rapture--glory,And explosion--all in one!
Though he hadn't any money--That condiment which tendsTo make a fellow "honey"For the palate of his friends;--Sweet simples he compounded--Sovereign antidotes for sinOr taint,--a faith unboundedThat his friends were genuine.
He wasn't honored, may be--For his songs of praise were slim,--Yet I never knew a babyThat wouldn't crow for him;I never knew a motherBut urged a kindly claimUpon him as a brother,At the mention of his name.
The sick have ceased their sighingAnd have even found the graceOf a smile when they were dyingAs they looked upon his face;And I've seen his eyes of laughterMelt in tears that only ranAs though, swift dancing after,Came the Funny Little Man.
He laughed away the sorrow,And he laughed away the gloomWe are all so prone to borrowFrom the darkness of the tomb;And he laughed across the oceanOf a happy life, and passed,With a laugh of glad emotion,Into Paradise at last.
And I think the Angels knew him,And had gathered to awaitHis coming, and run to himThrough the widely-opened Gate--With their faces gleaming sunnyFor his laughter-loving sake,And thinking, "What a funnyLittle Angel he will make!"
Words in this poem
- funny a.
- Droll; comical; amusing; laughable. Funny bone. See crazy bone, under Crazy. [From Fun.]
- twinkle v. i.
- To open and shut the eye rapidly; to blink; to wink. [OE. twinklen, AS. twinclian; akin to OE. twinken to blink, wink, G. zwinken, zwinkern, and perhaps to E. twitch.]
- twitter n.
- One who twits, or reproaches; an upbraider. [From Twit.]
- borrow v. t.
- To receive from another as a loan, with the implied or expressed intention of returning the identical article or its equivalent in kind; -- the opposite of lend. [OE. borwen, AS. borgian, fr. borg, borh, pledge; akin to D. borg, G. borg; prob. fr. root of AS. beorgan to protect. Borough.]
- await v. t.
- To watch for; to look out for. [OF. awaitier, agaitier; (L. ad) + waitier, gaitier to watch, F. guetter. See Wait.]
- sunny a.
- Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Funny Little Fellow is in the public domain. This text is taken from Riley Child-Rhymes, Project Gutenberg ebook #9777; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Whitcomb Riley, The Funny Little Fellow, in Riley Child-Rhymes (1890), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9777, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/riley-child-rhymes/the-funny-little-fellow.html, id L25036.
Form and metre
The Funny Little Fellow is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 4 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%).
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 ABABCDCD fellowA · typeB · mellowA · ripeB · twinkleC · occurredD · tinkleC · heardD
- 2 -A-ABCBC glitter · landsA · twitter · understandsA · storyB · punC · gloryB · oneC
- 3 ABABCDCD moneyA · tendsB · honeyA · friendsB · compoundedC · sinD · unboundedC · genuineD
- 4 -A-ABCBC be · slimA · baby · himA · motherB · claimC · brotherB · nameC
- 5 ABABCDCD sighingA · graceB · dyingA · faceB · laughterC · ranD · afterC · manD
- 6 -A-ABCBC sorrow · gloomA · borrow · tombA · oceanB · passedC · emotionB · lastC
- 7 ABABCDCD himA · awaitB · himA · gateB · sunnyC · sakeD · funnyC · makeD
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Twas a Funny Little Fellow | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Of the very purest type, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| For he had a heart as mellow | 8 | ······/˘ |
| As an apple over-ripe; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And the brightest little twinkle | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| When a funny thing occurred, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| And the lightest little tinkle | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| Of a laugh you ever heard! | 7 | ····/˘· |
| His smile was like the glitter | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Of the sun in tropic lands, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And his talk a sweeter twitter | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| Than the swallow understands; | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Hear him sing--and tell a story-- | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Snap a joke--ignite a pun,-- | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| 'Twas a capture--rapture--glory, | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| And explosion--all in one! | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| Though he hadn't any money-- | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| That condiment which tends | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| To make a fellow "honey" | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| For the palate of his friends;-- | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Sweet simples he compounded-- | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| Sovereign antidotes for sin | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Or taint,--a faith unbounded | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| That his friends were genuine. | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| He wasn't honored, may be-- | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| For his songs of praise were slim,-- | 7 | ······· |
| Yet I never knew a baby | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| That wouldn't crow for him; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I never knew a mother | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| But urged a kindly claim | 7 | ··˘·/˘· |
| Upon him as a brother, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| At the mention of his name. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| The sick have ceased their sighing | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And have even found the grace | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Of a smile when they were dying | 8 | ······/˘ |
| As they looked upon his face; | 7 | ······· |
| And I've seen his eyes of laughter | 8 | ······/˘ |
| Melt in tears that only ran | 7 | ····/˘· |
| As though, swift dancing after, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Came the Funny Little Man. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| He laughed away the sorrow, | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| And he laughed away the gloom | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| We are all so prone to borrow | 8 | ······/· |
| From the darkness of the tomb; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And he laughed across the ocean | 8 | ···˘/·/˘ |
| Of a happy life, and passed, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| With a laugh of glad emotion, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| Into Paradise at last. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And I think the Angels knew him, | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| And had gathered to await | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| His coming, and run to him | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Through the widely-opened Gate-- | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| With their faces gleaming sunny | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| For his laughter-loving sake, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| And thinking, "What a funny | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Little Angel he will make!" | 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.