"'But Sonnie-Boy felt prouder than England's queen
When it puffed real smoke and sure-enough steam.'"
"But it's a king in England, papa."
"I know, but that's the way the Little Green Men told me. Some things they don't know yet, they're so little.
"He named it Lightning 'cause of its speed,
And the 'casional spills he did not heed.
All big roads had accidents, people knew—
There was danger sure when the whistle blew.'"
"It's true, 'bout th' accidents, isn't it, papa?"
"Nothing truer. Now, let me see. What else? Oh, yes:
"'The Lightning Express is coming back,
Clear the way there, people, off the track!
Or Sonnie-Boy's engine, red and black,
Will knock you down and hit you whack!'"
"How's that?"
"That's great, papa. And did they have a band with them?"
"No. No band, but one little six-toed fellow—I 'most forgot him—was playing on a hook-a-zoo. That's a sausage-shaped thing, with things like rabbit's ears on it. The music comes out the ears."