J stands for Jay. This little fellow Is blue. Sometimes I think I'd like him better were he yellow, Or even reddish pink. I know, of course, it is absurd To mind the color of a bird; And, now I think of it, I've seen Some Jays that were exceeding green. K stands for Kangaroo. I've looked all round: A better beast for K cannot be found. The Kangaroo can hop and hop and hop; Somehow he never seems to want to stop. What more could one desire of him, I pray, Than just to hop around and stand for K? L is for Leopard. Do you know He's very, very vain? And sometimes quite dejectedly He mopes along the plain. At these sad times the Leopard's heart Is filled with angry passion, Because his spots are out of date, And Zebra stripes in fashion! But other years, when fashion-books Say spots are all the style, The Leopard proudly stalks abroad With most complacent smile. M is for Microbe. This bad beast Is very, very small; Some people say--or think, at least-- He isn't there at all! He's smaller than the mitiest mite; The only way he comes in sight Is when he's pictured in a book, Or through a microbescope you look. N is for Nautilus, and he's A pirate, bold and gay; He dashes madly through the seas, A-searching of his prey. He's just a sort of silvery mass, All spotted blue and pink; And with his eye, which looks like glass, He winks a wicked wink. O stands for the obsequious Ounce, Who weighs full many a pound; At you he playfully would bounce, If you were walking round. Approach him and the Ounce you'll see Spring like a catapult; Just try it once, and you will be Surprised at the result. P stands for Puma. His sleek paws Go softly pit-a-pat; His teeth are sharp, and sharp his claws; He's just a great big cat. There were some Pumas in the ark; There are some also in the park: But, strange to say, in Montezuma They do not raise a single Puma! Q stands for Quagga. We've been taught Nothing was ever made in vain; But even after serious thought The Quagga's use is not quite plain. Though, stay!--ah, yes! at last I see Why the queer Quagga has to be: Were there no Quaggas, how would you Find any beast to stand for Q? R's for Rhinoceros. You see His clothing does not fit; Yet so indifferent is he, He doesn't care a bit. Although it does not seem to us The unconcerned Rhinoceros Has any claim to wit or grace, We must admire his earnest face.