Algy met a bear,
The bear was bulgy,
The bulge was Algy.
This is an old poem PG located in a collection of children’s’ poetry with a 1969 copyright date. He would love to know who the author was.
Algy met a bear
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The variation I heard some time ago was something like:
Lucy met the train.
The train met Lucy.
The track was juicy.
The juice was Lucy.
PG I always thought it was by Ogden Nash – and that’s what a quick look online over here is telling me as well! But maybe not … it seems to be disputed.
It sounds a great deal like Nash. “G-d in his wisdom made the fly./ And then forgot to tell us why.”
Algy was once short for Algernon. Not certain if that’s what the original author intended.
I’ve always thought it was short for Algernon. Not a name you hear much these days!
You missed a line:
Algy met a bear,
The bear met Algy.
The bear was bulgy,
The bulge was Algy.
Edit to add: I have since seen versions without, as you’ve written it. Curious… there does appear to be a fair bit of folk process going on for such a short poem.
I like it better without. Let’s me fill in the blanks so the laugh is more unexpected. 🙂
Interesting puzzle.
Most sources I found say it’s anonymous (traditional?).
One source ties it to Red Skelton:
http://red-skelton.info/poetry/algy-bear/
At the Mobileread.com forums there is a sticky thread under reading recommendations for this sort of thing.
BTW, is Algy = Algae?
Would make a lot of sense then.
Thanks for checking, Felix.
You’re welcome.
It’s an odd ditty.
Would want to know myself.
(It does sound like something Skelton might cook up.)