Twinkle Twinkle

Jane and Anne Taylor first published their poem in London in 1806. There were originally four other verses, but most of us are only familiar with:

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high like a diamond in the sky.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are!”

Fifty-nine years later Lewis Carroll wrote a parody (with slightly better grammar) into chapter seven of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:

“Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you're at!

Up above the world you fly, like a tea tray in the sky.

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you're at!”

Some think his poem may have been a reference to Professor Bartholomew Price, a former teacher of Carroll’s whom he called "The Bat." It may also refer to an unfortunate incident involving a mechanical flying bat and a startled butler. I like to think both are partly true.