THE PORCUPINE’S DILEMMA
A porcupine once played at golf
And wore a sweater red.
“I notice all the swells dress so.
“And so will I”, he said.
But when he found his stylish clothes
Were far too warm for golf,
His sharp quills held that sweater fast
He couldn’t get it off.
A monkey, sitting on a tree
Above a shady pool,
Looked down and saw a crocodile
Within the water cool.
The crocodile looked up and said,
“Come down my friend and swim.”
Intending, when the monkey came,
To make a meal of him.
The monkey knew this was his plan
But leaped as if to dive.
The crocodile spread wide his jaws
To catch his meal alive;
But he was disappointed much
To see his sharp game fail
For, as he leaped, the monkey caught
And hung there by his tail.
One beast there is which should be shunned
By little girls and boys;
That is the cross Whine-os-ce-ros,
Which makes an awful noise.
For if they see this animal
And do not run away,
They imitate its shrill, harsh voice
And whine the livelong day.