Orts #754

 
        The Llama 
             
           — Hilaire Belloc, in More Beasts for Worse Children (1897)
 
The Llama is a wooly sort of fleecy hairy goat,
With an indolent expression and an undulating throat
    Like an unsuccessful literary man.
And I know the place he lives in (or at least—I think I do)
It is Ecuador, Brazil or Chili—possibly Peru;
   You must find it in the Atlas if you can.
The Llama of the Pampasses you never should confound
(In spite of a deceptive similarity of sound)
   With the Lhama who is Lord of Turkestan.
For the former is a beautiful and valuable beast,
But the latter is not lovable nor useful in the least;
And the Ruminant is preferable surely to the Priest
Who battens on the woful superstitions of the East,
        The Mongol of the Monastery of Shan.


 
    The Lama
        
        — Ogden Nash
 
The one-l lama,
He's a priest.
The two-l llama,
He's a beast.
And I will bet
A silk pajama
There isn't any
Three-l lllama.
 
 
A three-l lllama is one hell of a fire.
     — an anonymous wit(?), online