The King’
Breakfast by A.A. Milne
The King
asked the Queen and the Queen asked the Dairymaid:
“Could we
have some butter for the Royal slice of bread?”
The Queen
asked the Dairymaid; the Dairymaid said: “Certainly!
I’ll go
and ask the cow now before she goes to bed.”
The
Dairymaid she curtsied, and went and told the Alderney:
“Don’t
forget the butter for the Royal slice of bread.”
The
Alderney said sleepily: “You’d better tell His Majesty
That many
people nowadays like marmalade instead.”
The
Dairymaid said “Fancy!” and went to Her Majesty.
She
curtsied to the Queen, and she turned a little red:
“Excuse
me, You Majesty, for taking of the liberty,
But
marmalade is tasty, if it’s very thickly spread.”
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?”
The King
said “Bother!” and then he said “Oh, deary me!”
The King
sobbed “Oh, deary me!” and went back to bed.
“Nobody,”
he whimpered, “could call me a fussy man.
I only
want a little bit of butter for my bread.”
The Queen
said, “There, there!” and went to the Dairymaid.
The
Dairymaid said, “There, there!” and went to the shed.
The cow
said, “There, there! I didn’t really mean it;
Here’s
milk for his porringer and butter for his bread.”
The Queen
took the butter and brought it to His Majesty.
The King
said, “Butter, eh?” and bounced out of bed.
“Nobody,”
he said, as he kissed her tenderly,
“Nobody,”
he said, as he slid down the bannister,
“Nobody,
my darling, could call me a fussy man...
But I do
like a little bit of butter for my bread.”
