My Fairy
I have a fairy by my side Which says I must not sleep,
When once in pain I loudly cried It said "You must not weep" If, full of mirth,
I smile and grin,
It says "You must not laugh" When once I wished to drink some gin It said "You must not quaff".
When once a meal I wished to taste It said "You must not bite" When to the wars I went in haste It said "You must not fight". "What may I do?" at length I cried,
Tired of the painful task.
The fairy quietly replied,
And said "You must not ask".
Moral: "You mustn't."This was written when Lewis Carroll was 13, to amuse his brothers and sisters.
They were very strictly brought up, in a rectory, and he always tried to entertain them and make them laugh.
So I think this is just about an aspect of their daily life.
It also reflected, perhaps, some of his own feelings, because he was a strong willed person and did like his own way.
Contributed by Jenny Woolf (biographer of Lewis Carroll) and Oldpoetry reader.
Lewis Carroll
Other author posts
The Lobster-Quadrille
Will you walk a little faster said a whiting to a snail,There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance They are waiting on the shingle — w...
Dedication
Inscribed to a Dear Child: In Memory of Golden Summer And Whispers of a Summer Girt with a boyish garb for boyish task,
Dreamland
When midnight mists are creeping, And all the land is sleeping, Around me tread the mighty dead, And slowly pass away
Phantasmagoria Canto I The Trystyng
NE winter night, at half-past nine, Cold, tired, and cross, and muddy, I had come home, too late to dine, And supper, with cigars and wine,
