Market Square, Alan Alexander Milne was the famous writer of the much-loved Winnie the Pooh stories and is more generally known as A. A. Milne. Born in Kilburn, London in 1882 he spent his formative years living in a small independent school which his father, John Vine Milne ran. A. A. was fortunate to have visionary novelist H. G. Wells as one of his teachers there.
He went on to study at Trinity College, Cambridge after studying first at Westminster School. Up at Cambridge his writing talents blossomed and was soon noticed by the humorous magazine “Punch”. He was invited to contribute whimsical articles and poems at first and later was appointed assistant editor.
Market Square by Alan Alexander Milne
Market Square
A bright new penny,
I took my penny
To the market square.
A little brown rabbit,
And I looked for a rabbit
‘Most everywhere.For I went to the stall where they sold sweet lavender
(“Only a penny for a bunch of lavender!”).
But they hadn’t got a rabbit, not anywhere there.I had a penny,
And I had another penny,
I took my pennies
To the market square.
A little baby rabbit,
And I looked for rabbits
‘Most everywhere.And I went to the stall where they sold fresh mackerel
(“Now then! Tuppence for a fresh-caught mackerel!”).
“Have you got a rabbit, ‘cos I don’t like mackerel?”
But they hadn’t got a rabbit, not anywhere there.
A little white sixpence.
I took it in my hand
To the market square.
I do like rabbits),
And I looked for my rabbit
‘Most everywhere.So I went to the stall where they sold fine saucepans
(“Walk up, walk up, sixpence for a saucepan!”).
But they hadn’t got a rabbit, not anywhere there.
I had nuffin’,
No, I hadn’t got nuffin’,
So I didn’t go down
To the market square;
But I walked on the common,
The old-gold common…
And I saw little rabbits
‘Most everywhere!
So I’m sorry for the people who sell fine saucepans,
I’m sorry for the people who sell fresh mackerel,
I’m sorry for the people who sell sweet lavender,
‘Cos they haven’t got a rabbit, not anywhere there!
