The Distracted Centipede

 A centipede was happy quite,
 Until a frog in fun
 Said, "Pray, which leg comes after which?"
     This raised her mind to such a pitch,
          She lay distracted in the ditch
 Considering how to run.

Commentary

I took a friend back home to Hungary this past week, and in teaching her Hungarian, and in the simultaneous translation, I oft forgot for a few moments how to speak either language! She appraised my predicament with this apt and catchy limerick, and I am the richer for it.

I have seen several titles “ The Puzzled Centipede”, “The Frog and the Centipede”, “The Poor Worm”, “The Centipede Poem”, and several minor variants: “figuring how to run”, “Pray tell which leg…”, a/the in several places, his/her mind and so on. The indentation is mine, and feel free to quash it. I was unable to find attribution, as were the editors of the Oxford Book of Verse for Children, according to one second-hand source:

http://faqs.jmas.co.jp/FAQs/buddhism-faq/questions

[And a few minutes after sending us the original submission, Gremio adds:] In fact, I find some more variants and titles, when I search without “frog”. The antagonist is often a toad and sometimes a bird. I hadn’t realized how devious it is of either predator to distract its prey until I read it with a bird. This page emphasizes the point, by cleverly (I’m giving benefit of the doubt) substituting “Prey” for “Pray”:

http://www.camp4.com/coolsite.php?newsid=321

I also read in several places:

        This raised his doubts to such a pitch
        He fell distracted in the ditch
        Not knowing how to run.

This has been (probably mis-)attributed to Marion Quinlan Davis here:
http://www.cognitivebehavior.com/theory/quickconcepts.html
and to Allan Watts here:
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/0008/an000811.htm

Grem.

The Wondering Minstrels, poem #1664 · 3 April 2005

Guest poem submitted by Gregory Marton

Fair use

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From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.

Catherine Pegg · 3 April 2005

I’ve also heard it called: ‘The Centipede’s Dilemma’.

Andy Pepperdine · 5 February 2008

I’m about to go to a philosophy group discussion on humour this evening, and this poem came to mind from my school days. I made a parody, and then looked it up in an old book. Finally, a quick search on the net found your site.

Here’s my contribution:

A philosophical difficulty
(with apologies[1])

A philosopher was happy quite,
Until a yob began to chaff
“Why’s this funny, but not that there?”
It caught his mind in such a snare
He lay distracted in a chair
Not knowing how to laugh.

P.D. PAYNE

2008-02-05

[1] Craster, Mrs. E., Yet More Comic and Curious Verse (ed J.M. Cohen), page 83, Penguin, 1959.

A centipede was happy quite,
Until a frog in fun
Said, “Pray, which leg comes after which?”
This raised her mind to such a pitch,
She lay distracted in a ditch
Considering how to run.