Marmalade

The Queen said
“Oh!”
And went to his Majesty:
“Talking of the butter for
The royal slice of bread,
Many people
Think that
Marmalade
Is nicer.
Would you like to try a little
Marmalade
Instead?”

— A. A. Milne

Many people think of A.A. Milne, if they know his name at all, as the creator of Winnie the Pooh, and, while I love that silly old bear, and will probably talk about him later today, it’s Milne’s poetry that hooked me on him when I was really young.

“Marmalade” (which is really called “The King’s Breakfast”) is my favorite, not just because it’s a great rhyming story, but also because some words are inherently fun to say, and “marmalade” is one of them. Don’t believe me? Say it, and tell me you don’t start to smile.

When I was in high school (yes, high school) I volunteered for a literacy group. Among other things we shared favorite children’s books, but we also read books to little kids, and this poem was a favorite of mine, and theirs, because there is a pattern in the dialogue, and kids pick up patterns really well.

Of course, there is an inherent problem in posting about toast, bread, and marmalade twice before having breakfast: I’m now very hungry.

An aside, especially to those reading via OD or LJ: I’m going to be shifting to MoBlog mode for the next few hours while I’m at my froufrou salon having my roots re-done. (The Color that Shall Not be Named is perilously close to making an appearance, and MUST BE STOPPED). I’m fairly certain AudioBlog (now HipCast) doesn’t parse correctly through RSS, so you’ll have to go to to MissMeliss.com to follow along.

And a note to Elegy, who is my monitor today: This post is a few minutes early because I need to throw clothes on and drive half an hour up the road. Next one will be (hopefully) from the salon, or just outside it.