A Jolly Man

By Solveig Paulson Russell

Once there was a jolly man

Who always yawned in tune.

He yawned winter songs in fall

And summer ones in June.

He sometimes yawned up the scale,

And sometimes he yawned down.

His yawns were wide and mellow,

Renowned throughout the town.

When this good man grew sleepy,

Folks came from far and near

So that his tuneful yawning

Could please each mind and ear.

But then, alas, there came a time

When he yawned so long and wide

A swarm of bees that happened by

All flittered down inside.

And since that day the man who yawned

In tunes now never does,

’Cause all his yawnings sound alike—

Just buzz, buzz, buzz, and buzz!

Illustrated by Don Seegmiller