Happy 200th birthday, Edward Lear!

When I was growing up, one of my great favorites was his epic “The Pobble Who Has No Toes.”

It begins:

“The Pobble who has no toes
Had once as many as we;
When they said, ‘Some day you may lose them all;’–
He replied, — ‘Fish fiddle de-dee!’
And his Aunt Jobiska made him drink,
Lavender water tinged with pink,
For she said, ‘The World in general knows
There’s nothing so good for a Pobble’s toes!’”

Lear’s Book of Nonsense, featuring limericks and illustrations, is genius. No one is too old for Lear.