Nonsense Books · Chapter
Chapter XII: Of What Occurred Subsequently explained
After the deaths of the seven young Parrots, Storks, Geese, Owls, Guinea Pigs, Cats, and Fishes, the Frog, Plum-pudding Flea, Mouse, Clangle-Wangle, and Blue Boss-Woss gather to celebrate.
What happens
After the deaths of the seven young Parrots, Storks, Geese, Owls, Guinea Pigs, Cats, and Fishes, the Frog, Plum-pudding Flea, Mouse, Clangle-Wangle, and Blue Boss-Woss gather to celebrate. They collect memorials—feathers, bills, lettuce, and a cherry—arrange them in a circle, dance a hornpipe, and hold a tea-party, garden-party, ball, and concert before returning home, filled with a mix of joy, respect, sympathy, satisfaction, and disgust.
Themes in this chapter
Mortality and Loss
The chapter opens with the confirmed deaths of multiple young animals, and the subsequent celebration by other characters highlights a darkly comic response to loss.
Social Absurdity and Conformity
The elaborate festivities—dancing a hornpipe, tea-party, garden-party, ball, and concert—held in response to death underscore the absurd social rituals and emotional contradictions.
Characters to notice
- The Plum-pudding Flea
Joins the gathering to rejoice over the deaths of the seven young animals.
- The Melodious Meritorious Mouse
Participates in the celebratory events after the deaths.
- The Clangle-Wangle
Attends the gathering and takes part in the festivities.
- The Boss-Woss
Celebrates with the others after the deaths of the young animals.
Key passages
“After it was known that the seven young Parrots, and the seven young Storks, and the seven young Geese, and the seven young Owls, and the seven young Guinea Pigs, and the seven young Cats, and the seven young Fishes, were all dead, then the Frog, and the Plum-pudding Flea, and the Mouse, and the Clangle-Wangle, and the Blue Boss-Woss, all met together to rejoice over their good fortune.”
Once the deaths of all the young animals were confirmed, a group of creatures gathered to celebrate their own luck.
The survivors' joy contrasts starkly with the preceding losses.
“And they collected the seven feathers of the seven young Parrots, and the seven bills of the seven young Storks, and the lettuce, and the cherry; and having placed the latter on the lettuce, and the other objects in a circular arrangement at their base, they danced a hornpipe round all these memorials until they were quite tired; after which they gave a tea-party, and a garden-party, and a ball, and a concert, and then returned to their respective homes full of joy and respect, sympathy, satisfaction, and disgust.”
They gathered mementos from the dead, arranged them in a circle, danced until exhausted, then hosted multiple parties before going home with mixed emotions.
The absurd sequence of events and the contradictory feelings highlight the nonsensical tone.