The following is Edward Lear's nonsense tale of The Owl and the Pussycat.. * This particular tale was included as part of his book Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets. * Lear wrote the poem for Janet Symonds, the three year old daughter of his friend, John Symonds (also a poet) and wife Catherine Symonds..* Lear's classic account, The Owl and the Pussycat, was first published in 1871* Vast language opportunity is contained within the tale in the form of vocabulary and clever ph