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THE VANISHINGby@lewiscarroll

THE VANISHING

by Lewis CarrollAugust 11th, 2023
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They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;     They pursued it with forks and hope; They threatened its life with a railway-share;     They charmed it with smiles and soap. They shuddered to think that the chase might fail,     And the Beaver, excited at last, Went bounding along on the tip of its tail,     For the daylight was nearly past. “There is Thingumbob shouting!” the Bellman said,     “He is shouting like mad, only hark! He is waving his hands, he is wagging his head,     He has certainly found a Snark!”
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The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits by Lewis Carroll, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here. The Vanishing

Fit the Eighth - The Vanishing

They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
They pursued it with forks and hope;
They threatened its life with a railway-share;
They charmed it with smiles and soap.


They shuddered to think that the chase might fail,
And the Beaver, excited at last,
Went bounding along on the tip of its tail,
For the daylight was nearly past.


“There is Thingumbob shouting!” the Bellman said,
“He is shouting like mad, only hark!
He is waving his hands, he is wagging his head,
He has certainly found a Snark!”


They gazed in delight, while the Butcher exclaimed
“He was always a desperate wag!”
They beheld him—their Baker—their hero unnamed—
On the top of a neighboring crag.


Erect and sublime, for one moment of time.
In the next, that wild figure they saw
(As if stung by a spasm) plunge into a chasm,
While they waited and listened in awe.


“It’s a Snark!” was the sound that first came to their ears,
And seemed almost too good to be true.
Then followed a torrent of laughter and cheers:
Then the ominous words “It’s a Boo-”


Then, silence. Some fancied they heard in the air
A weary and wandering sigh
Then sounded like “-jum!” but the others declare
It was only a breeze that went by.


They hunted till darkness came on, but they found
Not a button, or feather, or mark,
By which they could tell that they stood on the ground
Where the Baker had met with the Snark.


In the midst of the word he was trying to say,
In the midst of his laughter and glee,
He had softly and suddenly vanished away—-
For the Snarkwasa Boojum, you see.

THE END



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This book is part of the public domain. Lewis Carroll (2008). The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13.html.images


This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org, located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.