Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat

"**Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat**" is a poem recited by the Hatter in chapter seven of Lewis Carroll's *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland*. It is a parody of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

## Text

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!

How I wonder what you're at!

Up above the world you fly,

Like a tea tray in the sky.

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!

How I wonder what you're at!

## Context

The Hatter is interrupted in his recitation by the Dormouse. "The Bat" was the nickname of Professor Bartholomew Price, one of the Dons at Oxford, a former teacher of Carroll's and well known to Alice Liddell's family.

## Other appearances

In Robert W. Chambers's children's book, *Orchard-land* (1903), the poem is partially quoted, in the seventh chapter titled 'Tha Bat' and the creature reveals his dislike of being associated with a flying tea tray.

The poem was sung in Disney's 1951 *Alice in Wonderland* film. In it, the Dormouse drowsily recited it at the tea party. The poem was later sung again at Alice's trial, and taken down as "important" evidence.

It was sung in the 1970s version of *Zoom* due to a request sent in from a viewer.

In the 1960s *Batman* series, Batman and a woman sing it while trapped in vases and pebbles being dropped on them in a version of the "Chinese water torture".

The line "Like a teatray in the sky" is used in a 1968 song by The Move entitled "Cherry Blossom Clinic", about a mental patient.

The poem was sung in the 1999 film by the Hatter (Martin Short) as a sort of "encore" to his singing performances.

In the Muppet Show version of *Alice in Wonderland*, the Mad Tea Party scene opens with The Hatter (Gonzo the Great) and the March hare and Dormouse (Camilla the chicken) singing the poem, only to fall about laughing immediately afterwards.

The first two lines of the poems were recited by the Mad Hatter in the episode "Mad as a Hatter" of *Batman: The Animated Series*.

The poem is also used in the *Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight* Halloween special entitled "Madness". It is read aloud by the Mad Hatter, one of the villains in the series. It can be found in the Haunted Knight Collection written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale.

In the 1995 film *Batman Forever*, the character Riddler tells Batman, "twinkle twinkle little bat / how I wonder where you're at."

In Tim Burton's 2010 film version of *Alice in Wonderland*, the Mad Hatter leads the March Hare and Dormouse in a recitation of this poem in an attempt to distract Stayne from discovering Alice.

In the 2011 video game *Batman: Arkham City*, The Joker recites his own version of the poem that goes "twinkle, twinkle, little bat / watch me kill your favorite cat", in regards to his attempted murder of Catwoman with a sniper rifle.

Mad March recites the first two lines in the SyFy TV miniseries, *Alice*, while interrogating Hatter.

It was also referenced in the manga *Devil May Cry 3: Code 1 "Dante"* on page 76 by a demon reminiscent of the Mad Hatter.

**Text:** *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland* | *Through the Looking-Glass* | *The Nursery "Alice"* | *The Hunting of the Snark*
**Retellings:** *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland retold in words of one syllable* (1905) | *Alice in Verse: The Lost Rhymes of Wonderland* (2010)
**Television:** *Fushigi no Kuni no Alice* | *Once Upon a Time in Wonderland*
**Literary adaptations:** *Alice in Murderland* | *Alice in the Country of Hearts* | *Miyuki-chan in Wonderland*