The Creature in the Classroom
Jack Prelutsky
It appeared inside our classroom
at a quarter after ten,
it gobbled up the blackboard,
three erasers and a pen.
It gobbled teacher’s apple
and it bopped her with the core.
“How dare you!” she responded.
“You must leave us . . . there’s the door.”
The Creature didn’t listen
but described an arabesque
as it gobbled all her pencils,
seven notebooks and her desk.
Teacher stated very calmly,
“Sir! You simply cannot stay,
I’ll report you to the principal unless you go away!”
But the thing continued eating,
it ate paper, swallowed ink,
as it gobbled up our homework
I believe I saw it wink.
Teacher finally lost her temper.
“OUT!” she shouted at the creature.
The creature hopped beside her
and GLOPP . . . it swallowed teacher.
ASSEMBLY
Dave Calder
I don’t want to see any racing in the corridor,
a gentle glide’s what we expect in here;
not that I mind a little heavy-handed fear
but you high spirits must slow down.
And I’ve had complaints that some of you
slip out at playtime. Let it be quite clear
that you stay in the graveyard till you hear
the bell. Seven-Eleven’s out of bounds,
so is Stop-And-GO and your other favorite haunts.
I’ll stop your little fun and groans:
there’ll be a year’s detention in the dungeon
for anyone caught chewing anything but bones.
And we’ll have no more silly tricks with slamming doors,
at your age you should be walking through the walls.
And it isn’t nice to use your loose heads as footballs
or vanish when you’re being spoken to.
And finally, I really must remind you
that moans are not allowed before midnight
especially near the staff-room. It’s impolite
and disturbs the creatures - I mean teachers resting in despair and mournful gloom.
You there - stop wiggling those chains,
I can’t bear to see a restless ghost put your face back where it was this instant
or you won’t get to go flying by the moon.
Class Three, instead of Double Shrieking
you’ll do Terminal Disease with Dr. Cyst;
Class Two stays here for Creepy Sneaking.
The rest of you can go. School dismissed.
October
Maurice Sendak
In October
I’ll be host
to witches, goblins
and a ghost.
I’ll serve them
chicken soup
on toast.
Whoopy once
whoopy twice
whoopy chicken soup
with rice.
Three Ghostesses
Anonymous
Three little ghostesses,
Sitting on postesses,
Eating buttered toastesses,
Greasing their fistesses,
Up to their wristesses,
Oh, what beastesses
To make such feastesses!
THE BOGUS-BOO
The Bogus-boo
Is a creature who
Comes out at night-- and why?
He likes the air;
He likes to scare
The nervous passer-by.
Out from the park
At dead of dark
He comes with huffling pad.
If, when alone,
You hear his moan,
“Tis like to drive you mad.
He has two wings,
Pathetic things,
With which he cannot fly.
His tusks look fierce,
Yet could not pierce
The merest butterfly.
He has six ears,
But what he hears
Is very faint and small;
And with the claws
On his eight paws
He cannot scratch at all.
He looks so wise
With his owl-eyes,
His aspect grim and ghoulish;
But truth to tell,
He sees not well
And is distinctly foolish.
This Bogus-boo,
What can he do
But huffle in the dark?
So don’t take fright;
He has no bite
And very little bark.
ADVENTURES OF ISABEL
Ogden Nash
Isabel met an enormous bear
Isabel, Isabel, didnʼt care;
The bear was hungry, the bear was ravenous,
The bearʼs big mouth was cruel and cavernous.
The bear said, Isabel, glad to meet you,
How do, Isabel, now Iʼll eat you!
Isabel, Isabel, didnʼt worry,
Isabel didnʼt scream or scurry.
She washed her hands and she straightened her hair up
Then Isabel quietly ate the bear up.
Once in a night as black as pitch
Isabel met a wicked old witch.
The witchʼs face was cross and wrinkled,
The witchʼs gums with teeth were sprinkled.
Ho, ho, Isabel! the old witch crowed,
Iʼll turn you into an ugly toad!
Isabel, Isabel, didnʼt worry
Isabel didnʼt scream or scurry,
She showed no rage and she showed no rancor,
But she turned the witch into milk and drank her.
Isabel met a hideous giant,
Isabel continued self-reliant.
The giant was hairy, the giant was horrid,
He had one eye in the middle of his forehead.
Good morning, Isabel, the giant said,
Iʼll grind your bones to make my bread.
Isabel, Isabel, didnʼt worry,
Isabel didnʼt scream or scurry.
She nibbled the Zwieback that she always fed off,
And when it was gone, she cut the giantʼs head off.
Isabel met a troublesome doctor,
He punched and he poked till he really shocked her.
The doctorʼs talk was of coughs and chills
And the doctorʼs satchel bulged with pills.
The doctor said unto Isabel,
Swallow this, it will make you well.
Isabel, Isabel, didnʼt worry,
Isabel didnʼt scream or scurry.
She took those pills from the pill concocter,
And Isabel calmly cured the doctor.
SKIN AND BONES
Traditional song
There was an old wom-an all skin and bones,
oo --- oo -----oo!
She lived down by the old grave-yard,
oo --- oo -----oo!
One night she thought she’d take a walk,
oo --- oo -----oo!
She walked down by the old grave-yard,
oo --- oo -----oo!
She saw the bones a-laying a-round,
oo --- oo -----oo!
She went to the closet to get a broom,
oo --- oo -----oo!
She op-ened the door and
BOO!
TWO WITCHES
Alexander Resnikoff
There was a witch
The witch had an itch
The itch was so itchy it
Gave her a twitch.
Another witch
Admired the twitch
So she started twitching
Though she had no itch.
Now both of them twitch
So it’s
hard to tell which
Witch has the itch and
Which witch has the twitch.