SAOLA
Saola, shmayala…hard to pronounce.

When she jumped on the scale, she was more than an ounce.

Nevertheless, she remained quite rare,

Almost as much as cities with clean air.

She lived in hot Vietnam

With her long, pointy horns,

She avoided all thorns.

Some called her a saola.

But her dream was to be an adorable koala.
So furry and cute,

Wrapped around a tree branch,

Almost a glove.
Ready for a bear hug

And oodles of love.

 

MR. FLUKE FISH

It wasn’t a fluke or kind of rebuke

When Mr. Fluke Fish

Fell in the blackstrap molasses

‘Cause of the stress in

Shopping for his 3D glasses.

You see his eyes are up here

And across over there….

 

YOGA FROG
The yoga frog stuck out his tongue

In order to eat tasty morsels of young…Quail eggs!

No legs, he begs!

Just meat juicy and sweet

To make my parts so flexible and neat.
And please remove this spaghetti!

He cried to the dragonfly, who

Was hoping for calm

But instead got confetti

When he flew through the shredder

On the desk with the teddy.

Oh my! What a mess! Bear hair!

What a pair: The frog and the dragonfly

Searching the sky

Looking for, hoping for yum-yum pumpkin pie.

But instead in their eyes

Fell rays of moonlight.

They said it felt good.

Then bid all a good night.
PEGASUS
It was raining cats and dogs (but no icky, sticky frogs)

[literal drawing/puppies and kittens]…(Ostrich and worm are covering their heads)

As Ollie and Winton cuddle together

And say with relief, Oh, what a bother!

Could have been falling on us those fat hogs

With a whine and a holler !

And a snoutful of fodder…
Pegasus was showing off his shiny shoes to Norse, the horse, and

PlumPie, the horsefly, and

MaggieMead, the centipede (who really needed lots of shoes!).

Oyvay!

To polish all those shoes took three hours and a half!

Enough time for a cow to give birth to a calf!

 

TEA TIME

The Germanic gerbil [wearing little Valkyrie  hat w/upturned horns]

And the Balkan bat

Met together for tea

In their nondescript flat.

Too sweet, said the gerbil

With a throaty, loud gurgle!

Too hot, said the bat

With a big, bad splat!

So they went out together

In worrisome weather

To search for a drink,

The color of ink….

 

Bad Boy Bear

Bad boy bear had really pretty hair.

He lured shiny new things

Into his glamorous lair.

Where sometimes he robbed them

Or used them as objects

And sometimes as subjects for his

Contemporary art,

Which was not very smart

Because the slick lawyers

Were hiding in rooms

With cell phones and videos to

Ensnare the bad boy bear

With really pretty hair.

 

Gulo, the Wolverine

Gulo so sleek and furry

With pearly whites…

The predatory wolverine

Can be quite scary and oh so mean!

He prowls Alaska on long-nailed paws

With agility and grace.

He kills and hunts

At his very own pace.

Pity the poor rabbit

Who was wearing the lace!

 

Celestial Cat and Dutiful Dog

Celestial cat and dutiful dog

Live with the morose Mrs. Bog

At the edge of a clearing

Not within hearing

Of the fire station

Whose bells and alarms keep the

Neighbors free from flickering harms.

Celestial cat loves Dutiful Dog.

You should see her put her puddy-cat

Paws on Dutiful’s jaws.

Looks like happy dog

Is getting a massage on his maws!

 

Touchy Toucan

Touchy toucan was quick to give you a peck with her beak.

“Think before you speak,” she squawked,

“Or you might dread the consequences.

The words you spout

That all come out

Can cause unnecessary harm

And will alarm those who don’t understand

And are too shy to take a stand.”

So be polite.

Avoid a fight.

Try to cultivate wisdom

Instead of a schism.

 

Doughty Dodo Bird

Doughty dodo bird was so determined.

The ermine looked up at her and asked,

“You never give up…what’s up with that?”

The dodo replied, “My dreams are big, and I

Don’t give a fig about those who tell me,

‘No, your aspirations are silly, and you will fail

Willy nilly.’

Don’t don’t tell me what I can do.

My plan is to fool you too!

I will soon succeed and

Fulfill my need to

Be the very best that I can be.”

 

Purple Pumpkin

Purple pumpkin was perplexed by the

Hex on the local barn.

“Why am I purple?” she purred like a kitten.

“Because you are special, the color of yarn.

One day in the future, the sweetest girl will

Twirl her horsehair paintbrush across a large canvas.

Then you will rise above ordinary lumpkin

And be transformed into an immortal pumpkin,”

Said the wise fairy who lived in the aerie.

 

Palomino Puma

Palomino puma was super sleek and fast.

Had the habit of chasing rude and rowdy Ruby the rabbit.

After too many races and both out of breath,

They agreed to stop hating and start contemplating what a

Peaceful life could be.

Just then, interrupted by a friendly, but fearsome, flea who said,

“Let’s all live together with Peace

As our goal…

So never again must we hide in a hole.

 

Flaky Flamino

Flaky flamingo was such a fussbudget

And so irresponsible.

Never did what he said he would do.

Never told quite the truth.

Was always late and appeared at the

Gate with another excuse.

“Boo-hoo Boo-hoo,”  he cried.

Well, the other critters said, “Enough is enough,”

And old flaky flamingo ended up fried

In a dish of ointments ‘cause of all the delays

On his way to appointments.                     

                                                                                                        [excerpts continue below]