The Lion and the Unicorn

The lion and the unicorn

Were fighting for the crown

The lion beat the unicorn

All around the town.

Some gave them white bread

And some gave them brown.

Some gave them plum cake

And drummed them out of town.

Making cake from plums that I bought yesterday at the farmers' market, I was thinking of this old Mother Goose rhyme and of its appearance in Through the Looking Glass.

Alice had seated herself on the bank of a little brook,
with the great dish on her knees,
and was sawing away diligently with the knife.
`It’s very provoking!’ she said, in reply to the Lion....
`I’ve cut several slices already, but they always join on again!’
`You don’t know how to manage Looking-glass cakes,’
the Unicorn remarked. `Hand it round first, and cut it afterwards.’
This sounded nonsense, but Alice very obediently got up,
and carried the dish round, and the cake divided
itself into three pieces as she did so.
`Now cut it up,’ said the Lion, as she returned
to her place with the empty dish. -- Through the Looking Glass

Notes:

• The recipe that I used is in this blog post.
• For a delightful history of plums, including plums in literature, see this blog post by Johanna at Green Gourmet Giraffe -- WHB Plums: A History, Trivia, and a Cake.