The centipede’s song

by Roald Dahl

A Pre-reading exercises:

  1. Watch the following video.

Have you ever eaten bugs/insects? If not, would you like to try it and why?

Think of your own family when answering the following questions.

  1. Who cooks at home?
  1. How do you have your meal? Do you eat with the whole family at the table? Or perhaps you often eat alone.
  1. What kind of meals do you eat? What are the main ingredients?
  1. Is there something you don’t eat? What is it and why don’t you eat it?
  1. What is your favourite take-away dish?

The Centipede’s Song

(from James and the giant peach)

I’ve eaten may strange and scrumptious dishes in my time,

Like jellied gnats and dandyprats and earwigs cooked in slime,

And mice with rice – they’re really nice

When roasted in their prime.

(but don’t forget to sprinkle them with just a pinch of grime.)

I’ve eaten fresh mudburgers by the greatest cooks there are,

And scrambled dregs and stinkbugs’ eggs and hornets stewed in tar,

And pails of snails and lizards’ tails,

And beetles by the jar.

(a beetle is improved by just a splash of vinegar.)

I often eat boiled slobbages. They’re grand when served beside

Minced doodlebugs and curried slugs. And have you ever tried

Mosquitoes’ toes and wampfish roes

Most delicately fried?

(the only trouble is they disagree with my inside.)


I’m mad for crispy wasp-stings on a piece of buttered toast

And pickled spines of porcupines. And then a gorgeous roast

Of dragon’s flesh, well hung, not fresh –

It costs a pound at most.

(and comes to you in barrels if you order it by post.)

I crave the tasty tentacles of octopi for tea

I like hot-dogs, I LOVE hot-frogs, and surely you’ll agree

A plate of soil with engine oil’s

A super recipe.

(I hardly need to mention that it’s practically free.)

For dinner on my birthday shall I tell you what I chose:

Hot noodles made from poodles on a slice of garden hose –

And a rather smelly jelly

Made of armadillo’s toes.

(The jelly is delicious, but you have to hold your nose.)

Now comes, the Centipede declared, the burden of my speech

These foods are rare beyond compare – some are right out of reach

But there’s no doubt I’d go without

A million plates of each

For one small mite

One tiny bite

Of this FANTASTIC PEACH!


BWhile reading exercises:

  1. Find 10 verbs that show how the food is prepared.
1. / 6.
2. / 7.
3. / 8.
4. / 9.
5. / 10.
  1. Which of the following dishes can you find in the poem?
dish / Yes / No
Jellied gnats
Earwigs cooked in slime
Wamp fish roes
Pickled spines of porcupines
Stinkbugs’ eggs
Hornet stewed in tar
Wasp stings
Car tyres on a bed of spinach
Dandyprats
Shoelaces dipped in honey
Fresh Mudburgers
Spiders’ eyes sprinkled with rabbit droppings
Minced doodlebugs
Sweat soup with hairballs
  1. Take a look at the list. What Roald used in this poem is called poetic licence. Explain in your own words what is meant by poetic licence.
  1. What dish makes his stomach upset?
  1. Search for words that express quantity.

1. / 5.
2. / 6.
3. / 7.
4. / 8.

CAfter reading exercises:

  1. The Centipede can’t choose what he wants to eat.

How would you feel if you had to eat peach every day?

  1. Write down 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of not being able to choose what you want to eat.
  1. Look for your favourite peach recipe or think of one yourself. Make sure you use the right quantities and units they use in Great Britain.
  1. Make up an (imaginary) recipe that the centipede would like. The ingredients may exist or not, but make sure they sound believable.
  1. Optional: Read the book ‘James and the Giant peach’.

Poetry task - Centipede’s song - Student’s pack Page 1