"They taught him how to hemstitch and they taught him
how to sing
And how to make a basket out of variegated string
How to fold paper so he wouldn't hurt his thumb.
They taught a lot
to Bertie but he couldn't do a sum
They taught him how to mold the
head of Hercules in clay,
And how to tell the difference 'twixt
the bluebird and the jay,
And how to sketch a horsie in a little
picture frame.
But strangely they forgot to teach him to spell his
name.
Now Bertie's Pa is cranky and went one day to find
What was it they did that made his son backward in his mind.
"I
don't want Bertie wrecked, " he said, his temper far from cool,
"I
want an educated boy!" so he took him out of school."