Animal Identities
A is an ape who wishes he were a man - why?
B is a butterfly who dreamed he was a man - why not?
C is the cat who wants to sit in my chair, when he knows I want to sit there.
D is the dignified duck who disdains Donald and Daffy.
E is the egret, elegant and snowy white, and loves her reflection in the water.
F is the frog, who to be a frog does not regret, until he's eaten by an egret.
H is the hummingbird, happy to be who she is - who else can steal attention from a flower, as she feeds from it?
I is the iguana who looks more and more like me.
J is the jellyfish, who is soft and pretty but who stings. Give me peanut butter and jelly, not jellyfish.
K is the kookaburra that brings happiness, as he laughs when he sings.
L is the lion who once was king, before the ape got his wish.
M is the mouse who, like me, enjoys cheddar cheese.
N is the nightingale who sings to a rose.
O is the owl wise enough not to disclose the song of the nightingale to his rose.
P is the platypus with a rubbery duckbill. I never saw a cooler animal, and I probably never will.
Q is for quail. Why oh why does he run instead of fly?
R is the rabbit with eyes on either side of his head. I've never seen one wearing glasses.
S is a spider, but you can't afford her. She needs lots of shoes, and she's always late trying to decide which to put on first.
T is for a tarantula, who does the 8-step to the tune of a tarantella.
U is the poor urchin who once lived by the sea.
V is the vulture who's now waiting for me.
W is the wolf, happy to sadly howl at the moon.
X is the xeru, who always remembers to wipe his feet.
Y is the yak, who is enlightened, and prefers not to speak.
Z is the zebra, who asks, "why would I want to change my stripes?"
Copyright ©
David Crandall
|