Once a little harmless turtle went a- walking ‘round the loop,
caught his little baby toe and ended up in turtle soup.
While the doves mourned his misfortune, sun set down behind the hills,
all the turtles gathered in their shells to guard against such spills.
On the morrow, signs were posted there before the deadly loop-
this prevented harmless turtles ending up in yucky soup.
As the days stretched into weeks, the peace in turtledom was great:
not a single little shell-back ended up in bowl or plate.
Came along one day a snakey- past the sign and ‘round the loop,
caught his little snakey belly and, you guessed it- snakey soup!
For he hadn’t read the sign, so neatly scribed in turtle scratch,
(in a slip’ry snakey brain that sort of thing is hard to catch).
Since the turtle signs are meant for little turtle eyes to see,
makes them not so clear to others, like a snake or you and me.
If, by chance, your toes go walking, don’t get caught around the loop-
stubbing one and then another, you’ll end up as poet soup!
(for the Turtle Soup contest)
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