What a wonderful bird the frog are!
When he stands he sit almost;
When he hop he fly almost.
He ain't got no sense hardly;
He ain't got no tail hardly either.
When he sit, he sits on what he ain't got almost.
Oops. Okay here is the version as I learned it. What a funny bird the frog are. He ain't got no tail at all almost hardly. When him walk, hin hop, when him not walk him sit on his little tail, which he ain't got at all, almost hardly.
I found a reference stating that the poem is attributed to an unnamed Norwegian who was living in Chicago in 1922. My father, who was 10 in 1922 taught me this version:
What a wonderful bird the frog are When he hop, he fly nearly Ain't hardly got no wing either, have he? - another version!
Checked out a book with this poem when I was in grade school back in the sixties. Laughed so hard in class I got sent to the principal's office. Shared my amusement with the principal, but think the book was removed from school library. Been a fan of Tom Foolery and nonsense ever since that day!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
The poem is found in a book of poetry called "Ted Malone's Scrapbook".