A nonsense rhyme that succeeds primarily because it is so ridiculous. Also inspired one of my very first literary attempts - my best friend and I, who must have been all of 8 or 9, wrote a fully rhyming, a la Lear, parody of this. If I recall correctly the owl drowned and the cat ate the pig.

We did not have the benefit of Gwen Fulton's gorgeous illustrations though, alas.