I had a little beetle, and Beetle was his name
I called him Alexander and he answered just the same
I put him in a match box, and I kept him all the day
And nanny let my beetle out, she went and let my beetle out
Nanny let me beetle out, and Beetle ran away
She said she didn't mean it, and I never said she did
She said she wanted matches and she just took off the lid
She said that she was sorry, but it's difficult to catch
An excited sort of beetle you've mistaken for a match
She said that she was sorry, and I really mustn't mind
As there's lots and lots of beetles that she's certain we could find
If we looked about the garden, for the holes where beetles hid
And we'd get another matchbox, and write "Beetle" on the lid
So we went to all the places that a beetle might be near
And we made the sort of noises which a beetle likes to hear
And I saw a kind of something, and I gave a sort of shout
A beetle house, and Alexander Beetle running out!
It was Alexander Beetle, I'm certain as can be
And he had a sort of look as if he thought it might be me
And he had a kind of look, as if he thought he ought to say
"I'm very, very sorry that I tried to run away"
And nanny's very sorry too, for you know what she did
And she's writing "Alexander" very blackly on the lid
So nan and me are friends because it's difficult to catch
An excited sort of beetle you've mistaken for a match