Fliss, thank you for the link to that splendid animation. I know that voice, though I can't place it, rather like the poem itself. I do hope kids get to hear Edward Lear these days! My favorite bits are the wild shopping spree when they arrive and "How wise we are!", but Roger, you also remind me - thank you! - both that I've not cracked open my biggish Lear volume in far too long, and that Lear loses a little of his superb vision, in my opinion, by telling us repeatedly about the sieve before we get to that splendid "Far and few..." On the other hand, I think that choice bothers practically nobody, so he was probably right. To me, it's all there in that crystalline moment of the refrain, unlike The Owl and the Pussycat, which never flags and which I think is better known for that reason. His two greatest poems, for my money, though he did invent the limerick and that is no mean feat.
Cheers,
John
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