In 1865, Lewis Carroll wrote the immortal “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland,” to the delight of generations of children and adults, and in modern times inspiring movies and musical adaptations.

In 1871, he wrote the sequel, “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There” — thus bestowing upon the world a second classic that to this day has lost none of its charm and wonderment.

And contained within that latter story is the famous poem, “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” in which — unbeknownst to Carroll — he foretold the future advent of the Donald Trump administration.

Most of us are familiar with one particular verse, though by itself it doesn’t seem to mean much:

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
”To talk of many things:
Of shoes – and ships – and sealing-wax –
Of cabbages – and kings –
And why the sea is boiling hot –
And whether pigs have wings.”

But how many know the rest of the poem, or the context in which that verse was written? In a nutshell, it’s a Pied Piper sort of tale, in which a Walrus and a Carpenter, walking along a beach, come across a bed of Oysters, all fat and ripe for the eating. They attempt to lure the mollusks along the beach with promises of a good time:

“O Oysters, come and walk with us!”
The Walrus did beseech.
”A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each.”

The eldest of the Oysters wisely declined the invitation, though he said nothing. Then:

But four young Oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat . . .

Four other Oysters followed them,
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more –
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.

Merrily the little Oysters followed in anticipation of a marvelous time to be had with their new friends. After a while, they rested, and the Walrus said it was “time . . . to talk of many things.” And as he and the Carpenter began preparing a loaf of bread and some vinegar and pepper, the truth finally dawned on the Oysters . . . but it was too late.

Spoiler Alert: I will leave you to read the entire poem for yourselves. But as you can imagine, the afternoon did not end well for the gullible little Oysters, who had failed to do their due diligence before electing as their leaders a pair of smooth-talking hustlers who cared only for themselves and their insatiable appetites.

THE END

*. *. *

And so it goes, dear children . . . even unto the present time.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/14/25