An Invented Creature

by Milo Mills

An invented creature came my way,

Loppity-lurping one fine day.

He wasn’t for real and he wasn’t for not,

With his lippity-lurping sort of trot.

He had moon-bright eyes and a spangled chin

Festooned with a tail where it shouldn’t have been.

His ears drooped down to his knees almost,

And his skin was browned like well-done toast,

With leaf-green freckles here and there,

And trimmed with splotches of curly hair.

The invented creature, he nodded his head

And “How-dee doody, friend,” he said.

“Would you like to see me spin on my nose?”

And before I could answer, up he rose.

With his feet in the air and his nose to the ground,

He spun like a top, around and around.

I was agoggle, and cross-eyed, too,

And amazed to see what he could do.

And then the creature flopped to his feet

And drummed the ground with a quick wild beat,

And he loppity-lurped this way and that

And almost lolloped just where I sat.

But suddenly with a lippity-wheeze,

He ducked his head and began to sneeze,

And he kerchooed and kerchooed all over the place

Till blue smoke covered his head and face.

And then he called out, “Excuse me, do,

But I guess I’m allergic to kids like you.

So I’ll be on my way. Take care! Sit tight!”

And he loppity-lurped right out of sight.

Illustrated by Dick Brown