Nonsense Books · Chapter
The History of the Seven Families of the Lake Pipple-Popple explained
This chapter introduces the seven families living by Lake Pipple-Popple—Parrots, Storks, Geese, Owls, Guinea Pigs, Cats, and Fishes—each with distinct habits.
What happens
This chapter introduces the seven families living by Lake Pipple-Popple—Parrots, Storks, Geese, Owls, Guinea Pigs, Cats, and Fishes—each with distinct habits. The parents send their forty-nine children into the world with warnings, but each group of young meets a disastrous end due to quarreling, curiosity, or folly. The surviving creatures celebrate, and the grieving parents pickle themselves in bottles.
Themes in this chapter
Nonsense and Absurdity
The entire chapter is a prime example of Lear's nonsense, with absurd creatures, ridiculous deaths, and a mock-serious tone.
Mortality and Loss
All forty-nine children die in bizarre accidents, and the parents subsequently pickle themselves, highlighting themes of death and grief.
Social Absurdity and Conformity
The children's inability to follow parental warnings and their tendency to quarrel reflect the absurdity of social rules and conformity.
Characters to notice
- The Parrots
The family of two old Parrots and seven young Parrots; the young Parrots fight over a cherry and tear each other to bits.
- The Storks
The family of two old Storks and seven young Storks; the young Storks quarrel over a frog and peck each other to pieces.
- The Geese
The family of two old Geese and seven young Geese; the young Geese are killed by a Plum-pudding Flea.
- The Owls
The family of two old Owls and seven young Owls; the young Owls fall into a well and drown.
- The Guinea Pigs
The family of two old Guinea Pigs and seven young Guinea Pigs; the young Guinea Pigs die from hitting their heads on a lettuce stalk.
- The Cats
The family of two old Cats and seven young Cats; the young Cats die of exhaustion chasing a Clangle-Wangle.
Key passages
“If you find a cherry, do not fight about who should have it.”
The old Parrots warned their children not to quarrel over a cherry.
This warning is immediately ignored, leading to the young Parrots' demise.
“Above all things, avoid eating a blue boss-woss; for they do not agree with fishes, and give them a pain in their toes.”
The old Fishes cautioned their children against eating a Blue Boss-Woss.
The young Fishes chase a Blue Boss-Woss into mud and suffocate.
“And after this they filled the bottles with the ingredients for pickling, and each couple jumped into”
The parents filled glass bottles with pickling ingredients and then jumped into them.
The parents commit a form of suicide by pickling themselves after learning of their children's deaths.