I had a little beetle

So that beetle was his name

And I called him Alexander

And he answered just the same

And I put him in a matchbox

And I kept him all the day

But nanny let my beetle out

Yes nanny let my beetle out

She went and let my beetle out

And beetle ran away She said she didn't mean it

And I never said she did

She said she wanted matches

And she just took off the lid

She said I mustn't worry

And I really mustn't mind

That there's lots and lots of beetles

That she's certain we could find

She said I mustn't worry

But it's difficult to catch

An excited sort of beetle

You've mistaken for a match If we looked in all the places

That a beetle might be near

And we made the kind of noises

That a beetle likes to hear

And I heard a kind of something

And I gave a sort of shout

It was a beetle house

And Alexander beetle coming out

It was Alexander beetle

I'm as certain as can be

And he had that kind of look as though

He thought it might be me And he had that kind of look as though

He thought he ought to say

"I'm really very sorry that I tried to run away"

And nanny's very sorry too

Cause you know what she did

And she's writing Alexander

Very blackly on the lid

So nan and me are friends because

It's difficult to catch

An excited Alexander

You've misstaken for a match