Hippopotamus.
If you desire a pet,
He is, it really seems to us,
The best that you can get.
Train him to follow at your heels
Whene'er you walk abroad,
And note with what delighted squeals
The lookers-on applaud!

I is for Ibex. This fine creature
Is favored well in form and feature.
And I is for Ichneumon, too--
But what is that to me or you?
But Ibex answers just as well,
And isn't near so hard to spell.

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Because his spots are out of date,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