Shel Silverstein

Melinda Mae

Melinda Mae - context Summary

From Where the Sidewalk Ends

Published in Shel Silverstein’s 1974 collection Where the Sidewalk Ends, "Melinda Mae" is a short, comic children’s poem that presents an absurd fable of stubborn perseverance. It depicts a tiny girl who decides to eat a monstrous whale and, despite being told she’s too small, slowly succeeds over many years. The poem’s tone and premise fit Silverstein’s playful, imaginative style for young readers.

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Have you heard of tiny Melinda Mae, Who ate a monstrous whale? She thought she could, She said she would, So she started in right at the tail. And everyone said,'You're much too small,' But that didn't bother Melinda at all, She took little bites and she chewed very slow, Just like a little girl should... ...and eighty-nine years later she ate that whale Because she said she would! ! !

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