Poems and verses: class 2

The Lion and the Mouse
(after Aesop)

Lion lies sleeping, silent and still,
Along comes a mouse and thinks he’s a hill.
Up the great body the little mouse goes,
Through mane, across ear, and down Lion’s nose.

But Lion wakes up and gives a great roar,
Catches poor Mouse in his long cruel claw.
“How dare you walk over your king and your lord!
For this only death shall be your reward.”

The little mouse shivers and shudders with fright,
Tries hard to think how to put things a-right.
“Forgive my mistake, mighty Lion, I pray,
And I promise to help you too some day.”

At this Lion laughs and shakes to and fro,
But he’s now in good humour and lets the mouse go.

Days come and days go, and some hunters pass by
Who set a great lion-trap cunning and sly.
Lion walks in, unaware of the threat,
And suddenly finds himself caught in a net.

Frustrated he roars with wrath and despair;
Little Mouse hears how he’s caught in a snare.
She remembers her promise and runs without pause
To the spot where the Lion so rages and roars.

Her sharp little teeth set to gnawing the rope,
Thread after thread, now the Lion feels hope.
Soon there’s a hole and the Lion is freed.
The Mouse has kept her promise indeed!

Paul King

The Fox and the Crow
(after Aesop)

A coal-black crow sits in a tree,
A morsel of cheese in his beak has he.
A fox slinks by as sly as you please,
And cunningly plots how to get the cheese.

“Oh how I admire your feathers so spry,
The sheen of your tail and the glint of your eye,
The elegant curve of your beak sharp and long -
But would I could hear your sweet voice raised in song!”

At this the crow’s flattered and quite taken in;
To impress the fox further he will now begin.
He throws back his head, and rasping and raw,
He utters a raucous, cacophonous “Caw!”

With beak all agape, the cheese tumbles out,
The fox snaps it up in his long pointed snout.
“Sing, Crow, your vanity, long as you please.
You keep your song, and I’ll have the cheese!”

Paul King

Chatterford Market

Cabbage and carrots,
Beetroot and beans,
Spinach and sprouts,
Marrows and greens:

All of the freshest
Crispy and spry,
At Chatterford market,
Buy! Come buy!

Lettuce and leeks,
Pumpkin and peas,
Cherries and berries
And lemons to squeeze.

There’s big yellow cheese
And honey from bees
And all sorts of teas
From bushes and trees,
And cakes and pies
To feast the eyes,
Pies and pasties of every size.
There are things we all know
And things that surprise
At Chatterford Market
Under the skies.

Paul King

The little bird sighed, “Oh me, oh my!
How they will laugh if I try to fly.
If I flutter and flop, or tumble and fall,
Will the creatures all laugh at me, clumsy and small?”

But the sun shone down with a kindly face
“Just try and soon you will fly with grace.”
The bird practised hard never minding to fall,
And now the great eagle flies highest of all.

Paul King

Acorn and Oak

“Oh I’ll never be big,” the acorn said
As it gazed on high to the oak tree tall,
“I’m little and round as a miller’s thumb,
I’ll never be big, I’ll always be small.”

The oak tree smiled a knowing smile,
“My trunk is thick, and my roots are deep,
My branches and twigs spread high and wide,
For birds to nest in, and bugs to sleep.

But I was an acorn too on a time,
- ‘Oh I’ll never be big, I’ll never be strong,’-
That’s what I thought many years ago...
And, dear little acorn, you see I was wrong!”

Paul King

Classes 1 to 3 (6-9 year olds)			Classes 4 to 5 (9 to 11 year olds)		Classes 6 to 7 (11 to 13 year olds)
Class 1	Class 2	Class 3	Class 4	Class 5	Class 6	Class 7

Classes 1 to 3 (6-9 year olds)			Classes 4 to 5 (9 to 11 year olds)		Classes 6 to 7 (11 to 13 year olds)
Class 1	Class 2	Class 3	Class 4	Class 5	Class 6	Class 7