I hope you enjoy this story. This file is provided for your convenience
to be used only in your home or in your individual classroom.  This story,
all or in part, may not be published, printed, or distributed in any form
or on any web site without written permission.  Please keep this notice with
this file. Thanks and keep smiling!  Bob Tucker (oldcoach77@aol.com)
Grandpa Tucker's Rhymes and Tales (http://www.night.net/tucker/)

SAMMY SNAKE

Sammy Snake had a dozen brothers,
But he just wasn't like the others.
They were nice and crawled real straight,
While Sammy moved like the figure eight.

Sammy was a problem child
Who leaned a little to the wild.
He loved to do all kinds of things,
Just to scare the human beings.

Once in a while, for stuff to do,
He'd hide in some girl's empty shoe
When she looked in he'd holler, "BOO!"
Sometimes he scared old ladies, too.

One time in church, he went in late,
Hid out in the collection plate.
And as they passed it down the aisle,
He flicked his tongue and  hissed a smile.

At human picnics in the park,
Our Sammy thought it quite a lark
That he could slink from tree to tree,
Then drop and swim in folks' iced tea.

He sneaked into an empty cupboard
And scared the socks off Mother Hubbard.
Then chased her dog around the room,
Slid out before she got her broom.

The Good Humor man got out of sorts
At Sammy's creeping up his shorts.
He gave Farmer Brown a heart attack
By crawling slowly down his back.

What he did was bad enough
But he denied he did the stuff.
Everyone in town agreed,
He was a sneaky snake, indeed.

Snake leaders talked about each antic,
And all agreed that they were frantic:
"If this keeps up, we know we're liable,
To get bad press, like in the Bible.

"This silly serpent is so bad
We have to tell his mom and dad.
So they can stop this stuff real quick.  
And maybe hit him with a stick!"

Sammy's dad was out of town,
His mother listened with a frown,
"I can't believe that this is true.
These are things my boy won't do!"

And when the mother asked her son
About the things they said he'd done.
He just hissed, "There's nothing to it,
It wasn't me, I didn't do it."

Before the annual Snake-orama
His folks had guests from Alabama.
Who brought their daughter, who was snooty,
But had turned into a slinky beauty.

So little Sammy lost his senses,
As we all do when love commences.
And things would never be the same,
Because of Sally-that's her name.

He bought her gifts at the Serpent Shop:
A nice grass skirt and a great tube top.
But he became depressed to find
That she had other guys in mind.

He hid behind a windshield wiper,
To watch her dancing with a viper.
Then she made him even sadder,
By flirting with an ugly adder.

Despite his efforts to restrict her,
She was hugged by a constrictor.
So, as his heart snapped like elastic,
He felt he must do something drastic.

The opportunity was neat,
They laid a sidewalk of concrete.
He said, as he slid through the alley,
"I'll write in that, 'I love  you, Sally.'

"When it dries, she still won't know. 
I'll bring her here and tell her so
And then unveil my work of art.
She'll say, 'Sammy, you're so smart.'"

As Sammy gave a small snake scoff,
He trashed the sign that said, "KEEP OFF."
And told his buddies, "Wish me luck."
Then slid into the slimy muck.

He quickly made a fancy "I,"
His "love you" measured two feet high.
Beginning to end  this writing spree.
He started to write the word "Sally."

But right between the L and Y
That darned cement began to dry.
So Sammy had to crawl real slow
And all at once he couldn't go.

Alas, his tail began to sink,
He wished he'd just used pen and ink.
His wondrous plan became all-talk,
As part of him became sidewalk.

All his friends began to cry,
"Sammy's stuck down at the 'Y.'"
Sammy said, "I strongly fear
That we will need some help brought here.

"Go find a sister or a brother,
But please, oh, please don't tell my mother.
She still thinks that I'm a saint.
If she sees this, she'll know I ain't."

And then to Sammy's great surprise,
He gazed into his mother's eyes.
While out to buy a magazine,
She happened on this ugly scene.

"Son, you've ruined all this nice cement 
And done all kinds of devilment.
When they all said that you are bad.
I told them you're an honest lad.

"I'm sorry, but I plainly see,
You sneaky snake, you lied to me.
Sammy, you are no account,
You're not my 'serpent on the mount.'

"Think of all the things you've done.
For Christmas-just forget that gun!
If you continue like you do
You might become a gangster, too.

"Then turn into a murderous boob,
And die in the electric tube.
Cause we all know, for goodness sake,
The hanging knot slips off a snake.

"You're as bad as your Uncle Rube,
Who fell in love with a plastic tube.
He fed it well and dressed it nice,
But it could never hold its mice."

Suddenly Sammy started to shake,
A pitiful sight; a sobbing snake.
For he began to realize,
It had been wrong to tell those lies.

The man who freed him with a drill,
Said, "Here's that snake that's such a pill.
He's always in one thing or other.
I feel so sorry for his mother."

He knew he had to change his way,
And just do things he should each day.
He pledged to never play those tricks
On silly human "walking sticks."

He told his friends and told his brothers,
"Boys, don't lie to your dear mothers.
My actions I will now adjust,
I must win back my mothers trust.

"When you see humans, let them pass,
Be lovable, silent, snakes in the grass.
But if you slip, and scare one senseless;
Confess, or pay the consequences."

He changed and lived "The Golden Rule",
And tried his best to learn in school.
Then earned a Smart Old Snake Degree,
At Wiggle University.

His article, "Be Nice, Not Mean."
Appeared in Playboa Magazine.
Sammy had reformed, it's clear.
Was voted "Serpent of the Year."

So, all you other little snakes,
Be good, no matter what it takes.
No one's  perfect, but believe,
It just gets worse if you deceive.

Live a life that's good and true,
Make other snakes believe in you.
Create a sterling reputation.		
And earn your parents' adoration.

Sally and Sammy wed one June,
Enjoyed an Aspen honeymoon.
And now they have a family,
They live together happily.

Their baby snakes all act so good.
Daddy says, "I knew they would."
But Mom requests that friends attune her.
She worries about that Sammy, Junior.

	--Grandpa Tucker
    Copyright ©1996 By Bob Tucker
	Grandpa Tucker's Rhymes and Tales
	http://www.night.net/tucker/