Sammy Snake and the Viper Brothers,
Billy Boa and some others,
Were hanging around telling jokes
About the dumb old human folks.
"Those crazy guys all hiss so bad,
The way they crawl makes me feel sad,
They have lumpy bodies full of joints.
Their teeth are short and have no points."
"It's hard to believe, but once or twice,
I've seen a human run from mice.
I saw one try to swim today,
He just jumped in and splashed away."
Then Sammy said, "Those guys are silly.
They stumble around all willy nilly.
And though each one acts like a fool,
Those pockets that they wear are cool!
"All creatures like to save their stuff
But for us snakes it's very tough.
I find it very sad and strange
That we have no place for our change."
Then old Vick Viper raised his head,
First gave a hiss and then he said,
"If men can build a safe moon rocket
Why can't we snakes design a pocket?"
So then the figuring began
And soon they had this pocket plan:
They'd cut shed skin into small squares
And stitch them together with coarse hairs.
Around their backs they'd make, just so,
A thin band lined with thick Velcro.
Across it they would lay the skin,
The coarse hair soon would dig right in.
The pocket locked right on the band,
It felt so good and looked just grand.
Each one was placed just high enough,
Their tails could reach in for their stuff.
Then Sammy's mother said, "My Son,
This is a smart thing you have done.
For when you guys go out and try 'em.
A lot of snakes will want to buy 'em."
Soon all the snakes would sit and sigh
As these "Pocket Snakes" went strutting by.
With pockets filled and cocky smiles,
While the others had their stuff in piles.
Across Snakeville they heard the cries,
"Hey, we want pockets like you guys."
So Sammy gathered more shed skin.
And the "Pocket Snakes" began again.
Sam's mom was right, for goodness sakes,
Their pockets sold like mouse hot cakes!
They just kept making more and more
And opened up a Pocket Store!
Now you might see some snakes crawl by
And flashy pockets grab your eye.
These snakes no longer grunt and sag,
While dragging around an awkward bag.
So snakes all tell this pocket story.
Sam's bunch receives the praise and glory.
They're hard at work on a little wheel:
The rumor is—a SNAKEMOBILE!
—Grandpa Tucker
Copyright ©1999 by Bob Tucker