Hypotenuse Cooked My Goose

A mathematician, I am not How to figure I forgot. Forget the hypotenuse, For it ain’t no use. Pythagoras, keep your theorem, For it causes me delirium. A mere child said he’d explain, With a smirk to cover disdain. “Three 3s are 9; four 4s are 16. Stay with me, and see what I mean. Add 9 and 16 for 25. And then the hypotenuse comes alive.” By this time I was feeling quite glum. So, I chimed in, not to sound dumb. “The square root of 25 is 5,” I smiled. “You’ve got it, Mister,” replied the child. Right then I knew without doubt, When my wife and I ride about, Our traveling miles will greatly reduce, When we take the slanting hypotenuse.