They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
     They pursued it with forks andhope;
They threatened its life with a railway-share;
     They charmed it with smilesand soap.

They shuddered to think that the chase might fail,
     And the Beaver, excited at last,
Went bounding along on the tip of its tail,
     For the daylight was nearlypast.

"There is Thingumbob shouting!" the Bellman said,
     "He is shouting like mad, onlyhark!
He is waving his hands, he is wagging his head,
     He has certainly found a Snark!"

They gazed in delight, while the Butcher exclaimed
     "He was always a desperate wag!"
They beheld him--their Baker--their hero unnamed--
     On the top of a neighboringcrag.

Erect and sublime, for one moment of time.
     In the next, that wild figurethey saw
(As if stung by a spasm) plunge into a chasm,
     While they waited and listenedin awe.

"It's a Snark!" was the sound that first came to theirears,
     And seemed almost too good tobe true.
Then followed a torrent of laughter and cheers:
     Then the ominous words "It'sa Boo-"

Then, silence.  Some fancied they heard in the air
     A weary and wandering sigh
Then sounded like "-jum!" but the others declare
     It was only a breeze that wentby.

They hunted till darkness came on, but they found
     Not a button, or feather, ormark,
By which they could tell that they stood on the ground
     Where the Baker had met withthe Snark.

In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
     In the midst of his laughterand glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away---
     For the Snark *was* a Boojum,you see.
 

                     THE END
 

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