Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook is the title of the last children's book by
Shel Silverstein. A work in progress for the better part of 20 years, the book was published posthumously in
2005. The book is largely composed of
spoonerisms in rhyming verse; e.g.:
- Runny Babbit knearned to lit
- And made a swat and heater
- And now he sadly will admit
- He bight have done it metter
- Way down in the green woods where all the animals play
- They do things and they say things in a different sort of way
- Instead of sayin' "Purple hat"
- They say, "Hurple pat"
- And instead of sayin' "feed the cat"
- They say, "ceed the fat"
- So if you say, "Lets bead a rook"
- That's as billy as can see!
- You're talkin' Runny Babbit talk
- Just like mim and he
Runny is a normal child, with many friends and two loving parents, his "dummy and mad" - who urge him to "shake a tower" and things like that.