A Sea-Serpent Saw a Big Tanker
A sea-serpent saw a big tanker,
Bit a hole in her side and then sank her.
It swallowed the crew
In a minute or two,
And then picked its teeth with the anchor.
Anon.
The Donkey
I had a Donkey, that was all right,
But he always wanted to fly my Kite;
Every time I let him, the String would bust.
Your Donkey is better behaved I trust.
Theodore Roethke
The Llamas' Holiday
A bunch of adventurous llamas
Dressed up in bright coloured pyjamas
And set off one night
On a holiday flight
To a beach in the balmy Bahamas.
They didn't enjoy themselves fully:
When they swam they were heavy and woolly-
And they might have all drowned,
But the lifeguard came round
And hoisted them out with a pulley!
Gordon Snell
Humpty Dumpty Went to the Moon
Humpty Dumpty went to the moon
on a supersonic spoon.
He took some porridge and a tent
but when he landed
the spoon got bent.
Humpty said he didn't care
and for all I know
he's still up there.
Michael Rosen
Mabel Murple
Mabel Murple's house was purple
So was Mabel's hair
Mabel Murple's cat was purple
Purple everywhere.
Mabel Murple's bike was purple
So were Mabel's ears
And when Mabel Murple cried
She cried terrible purple tears.
Sheree Fitch
Little John was not content
Little John was not content
Unless he played with wet cement.
One day alas in someone's yard,
He stayed too long and set quite hard.
His mother didn't want him home
So now he's just a garden gnome.
Max Fatchen
The Dancing Carrot
The beetroot was getting married,
The celery squealed with delight
The carrot stood up to dance a jig,
And the horseradish whistled all night.
Traditional Czech, translated by Andrew Fusek Peters
