"You are old, Father william," the young man said, <br />"And your hair has become very white; <br />And yet you incessantly stand on your head-- <br />Do you think, at your age, it is right? <br /> <br />"In my youth," Father William replied to his son, <br />"I feared it might injure the brain; <br />But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, <br />Why, I do it again and again." <br /> <br />"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, <br />And you have grown must uncommonly fat; <br />Yet you turned back a somersault in at the door-- <br />Pray, what is the reason of that?" <br /> <br />"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his gray locks, <br />"I kep all my limbs very supple <br />By the use of this ointment--one shilling a box-- <br />Allow me to sell you a couple." <br /> <br />"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak <br />For anything tougher than suet; <br />Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak-- <br />Pray, how did you manage to do it?" <br /> <br />"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, <br />And argued each case with my wife; <br />And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw, <br />Has lasted the rest of my life." <br /> <br />"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose <br />That your eyes was as steady as ever; <br />Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose-- <br />What made you so awfully clever?" <br /> <br />"I have answered three questions, and that is enough," <br />Said his father; "don't give yourself airs! <br />Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? <br />Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!" <br /> <br /> <br />Submitted by foolish Paeter<br /><br />Lewis Carroll<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/you-are-old-father-william-2/
