Fit the First – The Beginning


“Just the place for a Nargle!� brave Luna did cry,
As she guided her people to shore;
Her earrings were bright in the sun’s early light,
Her blue eyes keen to explore.

“Just the place for a Nargle, I’ve said it again,
And also from what I have known,
It’s just the right place, with just the right space.
I think we have found now its home!�

The crew was complete: first Harry arrived,
The Boy Who Had Lived and his scar—
Hermione was there with her big bushy hair,
And Ron, with whom she could spar.

Ginny had come with her Bat Bogey hex
To cast upon all who did whine;
Seamus was told to stay in the hold,
Because he was sick all the time.

There was also a Kneazle that slept on the deck,
Or stalked the poor mice down below;
And often would purr at the least kindest word,
Even from pale-faced Draco.

There was one who was known for what he forgot,
Whenever he boarded the boat;
His wand and his toad and the rest of his load:
He left behind all without note.

He had tried to remember, and gathering his stuff,
He labeled his items by name;
But since he forgot to tell of the spot,
It was left on the dock just the same.

The loss of his things did not really matter,
He had several items of clothes;
But he also had lost, at a terrible cost,
His name, which nobody knows.

He would answer to, “Hey!� or any such call,
Such as “Yoo-hoo!� or “My, what is that?�
To “What-is-your-name?� or “My-what-a-shame!�
But especially, “Wake up, you prat!�

While some did prefer far more ungainly names,
He had other names than those too:
His close friends did say “Hello, Disarray,�
And his enemies called him, “Debut.�

“His face in not pretty, his voice a bit odd –“
(So Luna would sometimes recall.)
“But he’s really quite brave and may all of us save,
From the Nargle, which matters, after all.�

He’d joke with great lions, answering their growls
With a roaring that sounded quite smug;
And once he did stare, down the throat of a bear:
“It was nothing,� he said with a shrug.

He came as a Master of Potions but revealed—
And it made the poor crew rather mad—
That he could not brew even the simplest stew,
Were the ingredients there to be had.

One more of the crew needs a quick special mention,
For though he looked small he was not:
He squeaked when he talked and skipped when he walked,
Yet his magic was right on the spot.

He came as a House Elf, but soon it was known,
That after they’d sailed a while,
He could only charm meals, and also Kneazles,
Which always made Ron Weasley smile.

Ron was quite happy, Hermione was not,
For the Kneazle had once been her cat;
It followed her ‘round, as if it were bound,
To lay down wherever she sat.

The Kneazle, who happened to hear the strange news,
Was worried, and managed to say:
That should he be charmed he would bite off the arm
Of the House Elf right fast away.

It was strongly advised that the House Elf should safely
Be bound to the back of the boat;
But Hermione warned that should he be scorned
The House Elf—and crew—might revolt.

“Meals are vital, a culinary need,
For all those who sleep on this ship.�
Luna said then, “We are all here kinsmen,
We’ll make sure the Elf doesn’t slip.�

The Kneazle’s best course, was, of course, to differ
To Ginny’s suggestion so bold:
That he swallow his pride and hurry to hide,
So the Kneazle went down to the hold.

Harry spoke up to offer his thought,
That magic was also a way:
The Kneazle was spelled so charms were repelled,
Should any stray ones come his way.

But even though Crookshanks was magically safe,
He avoided the House-Elf and Ron;
He stayed down below and rarely did show
On the deck as the ship sailed on.


A/N: This poem is based on The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll. I had thought to enter it in the Ballad Challenge years ago but decided that I could not commit to finishing it before the deadline. There are eight parts to this poem, and although I started the second, I have no plans to continue: it’s harder than it looks! However, I do hope you enjoyed this opening look at Luna’s expedition to capture a Nargle. Thank you for reading! You can read the original at: http://www.literature.org/authors/carroll-lewis/the-hunting-of-the-snark/index.html.