By Dr. Seuss
Said Conrad Cornelius o’Donald o’Dell
My very young friend who is learning to spell;
The A is for Ape. And the B is for Bear.
The C is for Camel. The H is for Hare.
The M is for Mouse, and the R is for Rat.
I know all the twenty-six letters like that…
…through to Z is for Zebra. I know them all well.
Said Conrad Cornelius o’Donald o’Dell.
So now I know everything anyone knows
From the beginning to the end. From the start to the close.
Because Z is as far as the alphabet goes.
Then he almost fell flat on his face on the floor
When I picked up the chalk and drew one letter more!
A letter he never had dreamed before!
And I said, You can stop, if you want, with the Z
Because most people stop with the Z
But not me!
In the places I go there are things that I see
That I never could spell if I stopped with the Z
I’m telling you this ‘cause you’re one of my friends.
My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!
The places I took him!
I tried hard to tell
Young Cornelius o’Donald o’Dell
A few brand-new wonderful words he might spell.
I led him around and I tried hard to show
There are things beyond Z that most people don’t know.
I took him past Zebra. As far as I could.
And I think, perhaps, maybe I did him some good…
Because, finally, he said:
This is really great stuff!
And I guess the old alphabet
ISN’T enough!
Now the letters he uses are something to see!
Most people still stop at the Z…
But not He!