The Owl and the Pussycat Dolls*

Or, in this case, the Owl, Ruth (17), Lois (15), Poochie and Trix. There was a story connected with this photo, but sorry to say, I've forgotten the details. It probably involved the owl getting their chickens and the necessity of doing away with the owl. From the flashlight in Mom's right hand and Grandpa Joe's revolver in Aunt Lois's left hand, I believe the actual killing happened at night. The next morning they used the ladder to get the owl out of the tree and then posed for the picture -  two such brave and stylish wild west heroines!

I remember Mom reading Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat to me as a child. Even then I thought it was a very odd pairing, but I enjoyed the poem. How fun to discover that Lear made up the word runcible, as in runcible spoon, and it later went on to become the name of a utensil.

	The Owl and the Pussycat

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!'

Pussy said to the Owl, 'You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?'
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

'Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?' Said the Piggy, 'I will.'
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

I haven't heard Katy Perry's vocal version of the poem, but here's a lovely spoken version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1mNmFf3qPk

(*In Mom and Aunt Lois's day, they might have been referred to as dolls, but never as pussycat dolls. They probably never even watched that pop girl group and dance ensemble in their later years.)