Vocabulary Building!

“Now, hold on tight. That’s very good. Then peck, peck, peck, peck, peck the wood.” PECK PECK PECK “Oh, look, yippee! I’ve pecked a hole right through this tree.”

So off I flew— I couldn’t wait— across the grass and onto the gate. PECK PECK PECK

I peck, peck, peck a magazine, a picture of Aunt Geraldine, an armchair, a teddy bear, and a book called Jane Eyre. PECK PECK PECK PECK PECK

I peck the soap, the blue shampoo. I peck the sink and the toilet too. PECK PECK PECK PECK

I peck the shirt. I peck the skirt, some slipper socks, and polka dots. PECK PECK PECK PECK PECK

I peck and peck and peck and peck. I peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, peck until there’s NOTHING LEFT to peck.

“That’s fantastic,” Daddy said. “And now it’s time you went to bed. Good night, sleep tight, I love you. I love, love, love, love, LOVE you.” KISS KISS KISS

I asked my parents for a pet. My parents answered, “Not quite yet.” They’re very science-minded folk. “Research, child, is not a joke.” They told me, “Formulate a query. Slowly plan your bestiary.” They said my facts should be complete. “Calculate what beasties eat.” They urged me to learn all I can. “Devise a scientific plan.” They added to this conversation. “Write down every observation.” Then they handed me a pen. “When you’re through, we’ll talk again.” QUERY: What is the best pet for me? Once my query was revealed, I prepped to study in the field. I tucked a notebook under my arm. Desired destination: Farm.

FILED OBSERVATIONS COW From the side of the road she looked so serene, happily chewing her cud. Upon closer inspection she seemed sort of mean, nudging me into the mud. From the side of the road I breathed fresh air, the grass and the rye smelled so sweet. Upon closer inspection I smelled dairy air as the cow dropped a pie at my feet. CHICKEN Hello, chickie! You’re so cute— a puffball in a yellow suit. Cupped in my hand you chirp and cheep. I’ll take you home, sweet little peep. When you’re grown, let’s make a deal. You’ll lay an egg for every meal. How ideal! There’s your mom! I’m gonna guess that she has eggs inside her nest. I’ll help myself. She shouldn’t mind. . . . Then Mama sneaks up from behind. As I search her feathered bed that dumb cluck squawks and pecks my head! Next she lunges at my legs. Good-bye, chickie! Keep the eggs!

DOVE Lovey-dovey, dovey-lovey— cooing in the tree. They’re pigeons (only prettier) who love to poo on me. SHEEP You look so soft and huggable, so sweater set and ruggable. You sheep seem downright snuggable. I hope you are for sale. But as your flock gets near to us I whiff something odiferous. My nostrils get a snifferous. What is that awful smell? I know that it’s regrettable. I don’t find you that pettable. Your stink is quite upsettable. Here comes a fainting spell! You grin like I’m a wimp and yet a sheep that reeks won’t be my pet. If I should feel affectionate, I’ll hug my rug and sweater set. The farm was interesting, and yet I still have failed to find a pet. Sure of what I have to do, I’ll take my research to the farm zoo.

ZOOLOGICAL EXPEDITION MONKEY He looks so like a little man with smiling teeth and grasping hand. He chatters to his monkey friends, but that is where the likeness ends. His fur is full of bugs and lice. He flings his poo— His aim’s precise. His scream sounds like a banshee’s wail. He swings from his prehensile tail. And worst of all he smells so funky. If he’s a man, then I’m a monkey! TIGER Never take a tiger home, no matter how he pleads with you, ’cause if you take a tiger home, we’ll soon see how he feeds with you. PENGUIN You’re the emperor of cute, with waddly walk and pouty beak. Strutting in your birthday suit, make-believing you’re unique. Blending in with all the others, have you joined a club of clones? Stamped and shaped by cookie cutters, do you ever walk alone? It’s a penguin hall of mirrors, fading in and out of sight. No one is as he appears in a sea of black and white. Every time I blink, I lose you in this world of ice and snow. If you hide, how can I choose you? Penguin? Penguin? Where’d you go?

TEST SUBJECT #3: SMALL DOG A little dog might work for me— a trendy, hip accessory. I’d carry her each place I roam. My backpack would become her home. And all the kids would think it cool that I could wear my dog to school. But what would it be like down there, stuffed in a backpack, short on air? No exercise, deprived of smells, the victim of my show-‘n’-tells. No dog should be so tightly penned. Who would do that to a friend? TEST SUBJECT #4: KITTEN Pitter-patter pampered paws, ripping razor cutting claws, pretty, pinky, pouty mouth. Simply shredded leather couch, whisper whisker kitty kiss. Horrific high-pitched spitting hiss, precious pretty cuddle cat, precocious, spoiled crabby brat. When a kitten is your pet, you never know what you will get. One minute it’s as sweet as pie, the next, it’s swatting at your eye. Its personality is split. I think I best get rid of it. Somehow my parents figured out what all the cages were about. In order to escape their fuss I’m taking notes at Pets “R” Us.

INCONCLUSIVE INVESTIGATIONS PET ROCK My father said he had a rock– a rock that was his pet. This goes to show that long ago Dad wasn’t too smart yet. He must be more intelligent now that he is older. But just for fun last Father’s Day, I gave him a pet boulder. DISAPPOINTMENTS I met a golden retriever. He never brought me gold. The starfish didn’t twinkle. The Newfoundland was old. Can’t rope and ride the bullfrog. The hedgehog isn’t hoggish. No dragon in a dragonfly. The prairie dog’s not doggish. Carpenter ants aren’t builders. Pinschers never pinch. Boxers have no boxing gloves. An inchworm’s not an inch. I find this all confusing, but research doesn’t lie. No chocolate in a chocolate Lab? I think I’m gonna cry!

A acorn, airplane, ant, apple, asparagus, astronaut, avocado  B ball, balloon, basket, beach, bear, bike, bird, boat, book, butterfly  C cactus, camel, camper, castle, cloud, cow  D deer, dock, dolphin, donut, drums, duck  E eagle, egg, eiffel tower, elephant, excavator  F farm, field goal, fire, fish, flashlight, football, fox  G giraffe, golden gate bride, golf, goat, guitar  H hay, helicopter, hopscotch, hot air balloon, hot dog, house  I iceberg, ice cream truck, ice skate, igloo, iguana  J jalepeno, jelly, jellyfish, juice box, jump rope, jungle, jungle gym….