One woman had two pillows,
three daughters and four sons,
around her house five willows,
and in that house six nuns.
The nuns had seven roses
they got from eight young men;
they blew their nine red noses
and tried to count to ten.

The King unto the Tsar declared
'A war without an end!',
but then he scratched his chin and said:
'But all my money's spent;
now that I come to think of it,
I'll rather have a friend.'

A man came to the store and said:
'I need a kitchen sink;
but for his homework after school
my boy may need some ink;
now that I come to think of it,
I'll rather have a drink.'

A well-dressed woman said: 'I want
some cleaner for our flat;
or maybe I should get a bit
of baby food instead;
now that I come to think of it,
I'll rather have a hat.'

A girl went to the shop and said:
'I need some killer weeds',
but then she bit her lip and said:
'Or was it daisy seeds?
Now that I come to think of it,
I'll rather have some sweets.'

Patricia went to sleep one evening
and heard a noise; she raised her head
and nearly almost got a fright when
a stranger stood beside her bed.

A fubby wizard stumbled over
his untied laces with a grin;
Patricia smiled, and then she asked him:
‘How in God’s name did you get in?’

He looked around like he was wondering
if it was him she meant: ‘I say,
of course I entered through the keyhole,
or do you know a better way?’

‘That is impossible’, she told him.
‘It’s not’, the wizard looked askance;
‘next thing you’re trying to convince me
that flowers cannot sing and dance!’

‘Of course they can’t’, the girl asserted,
‘they’re only plants; I think you’re mad!’ -
The wizard snapped his crooked fingers,
and every flower turned its head.

And while the wizard was conducting,
they linked their leaves or danced alone;
the little daisies sang soprano,
the crimson rose sang baritone.

Encouraged by the other flowers,
the shy magnolia sang along,
and if the wizard hadn’t joined them,
it would have been a lovely song.

He smugly smiled and told Patricia:
‘This is a night you won’t forget!
I wonder, are there any other
things that you don’t believe in yet?’

She took a while to think about it,
and as she thought, she slowly curled
her locks: ‘I don’t believe in horses
that fly with me around the world!’

A horse was peeping through the window;
Patricia climbed its back, and then
it spread its mighty wings and carried
her through the air - their flight began!

She grasped its mane, and in the moonlight
she saw the forests and the hills,
the plains and fields, the brooks and rivers,
the meadows and the watermills.

And soon they reached the big blue ocean
with many islands on their way,
she saw the whales that swam around them
and dolphins playing in the bay.

When suddenly the sun was rising,
Patricia got a little fright:
‘It’s day already, and my parents
will wonder where I spent the night!’

But then she smiled, for she remembered,
as she enjoyed her magic ride,
that when it’s night, the sun is shining
upon the planet’s other side.

And over jungles, over deserts
they flew and over many a hill.
Then it got dark again; she shivered,
for at the pole the air grew chill.

When they came home, she told the wizard
a lot about her wondrous flight,
but then she pondered, and she asked him:
‘Why did you visit me tonight?’

The wizard scratched his matted sideboard
and pointed at his worn-out shoe:
‘I heard you’re able to tie laces,
and that is something I can’t do.’

Little old lady climbed up a tree,
little old lady, weak as can be.

Little old lady got up the trunk,
little old lady, still full of spunk.

Little old lady, poor little wench,
little old lady sat on a branch.

Little old lady leaned on a twig,
little old lady, losing her wig.

Little old lady reached for the sky,
little old lady thought she could fly.

Little old lady fell off the tree;
little old lady, wish you were me.

A germ is very very small –
so small it can’t be seen at all.

But it is there, and it is quick,
and when it stings, it makes you sick!

Germs love the country and the town
and can make elephants break down.

And they love dirt: they live on streets,
in dustbins and on toilet seats.

A million germs once sat around
a toilet, waiting to be found.

And soon enough a little boy
came in, and they all jumped for joy!

The germs with all their little friends
hopped on his fingers and his hands.

They danced and told how they would bring
him pain and illness with their sting.

One said: ‘I’ll sting his throat, I think,
so he can’t swallow food or drink!’

Another said: ‘I’ll sting his eye
and make it hurt so bad he’ll cry!’

‘I’ll give him fever, and I’ll drain
his body, so he’ll cringe with pain!’

‘I’ll sting his stomach in a way
that he will vomit night and and day!’

But then the germs began to shrink:
the little boy went to the sink.

‘No soap! No water!’, they all screamed,
but no one heard their cries, it seemed.

And so the germs went down the drain
and to the sewers with the rain.

They went downstream and finally
were swept into the deep blue sea.

But they’ll be back again some day,
to sting or to be washed away.

This evening Tiddles counted sheep,
and very soon he fell asleep
with just his heartbeat in the room:
(-) Boom! (-) Boom! (-) Boom! (-) Boom!*

But he wakes up and turns around
because he hears a spooky sound.
Is someone else inside the room? -
Ba-boom! Ba-boom! Ba-boom! Ba-boom!

So he’s hiding deep under his blanket and sheet,
and he feels how his heart starts to quicken its beat.
He’s afraid that a ghost may have entered the room;
Ba-ba-boom! Ba-ba-boom! Ba-ba-boom! Ba-ba-boom!

Then he turns on the light and sees
the curtains moving in the breeze.
There is no ghost inside the room -
Ba-boom! Ba-boom! Ba-boom! Ba-boom!

So Tiddles counts his sheep again,
and soon he falls asleep again
with just his heartbeat in the room:
(-) Boom! (-) Boom! (-) Boom! (-) Boom!*

* (-) indicates a pause of one syllable in length

The intention of the poem is to point out how rhythm relates to (and derives from) the heartbeat, and how it can get faster with increasing excitement/activity.