Needles and Pins (Patter Book)
Needles and pins, hooks and eyes!
I saw a doughnut in the skies.
Flipperjinks the circus clown
Climbed a tree and got it down.
First published in The Peter Patter Book of Nursery Rhymes (1918).
There’s something delightfully absurd about this little rhyme — the kind of nonsense that children take perfectly seriously. A flying doughnut, a climbing clown, and a sky that seems to play along with the joke — it’s all wonderfully out of proportion. The humor lies in its confidence: of course a doughnut could float in the air; of course someone named Flipperjinks would go fetch it. It’s a world where logic takes a nap and imagination runs the show.
1. A simple retelling
A doughnut appears in the sky, and a circus clown named Flipperjinks climbs a tree to bring it down.
2. The characters
Main character: Flipperjinks the circus clown
Other characters: The narrator, a flying doughnut
3. Setting
Outdoors.
4. Theme
Playful nonsense and childlike imagination.
5. Moral
No clear lesson.
