Persnickerdies

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In a place somewhere just south of here
Along the river “Slowly Creeps”
Live the people of Persnickerdy
In hollow huckleberry trees

Persnickerdies are invisible
Well, when they want to be
And most are just two inches tall
But some will grow to three

They drive around in busses
The kind that go Vroom, Vroom
Or they’ll ride on snap-the-dragons
But only when in bloom

Most of them are orange and brown
Some are green and blue
And maybe red and yellow
But there are other colors too

They’re busy little people
These Persnickerdies
Always darting back and forth
Between the huckleberry trees

Now the thing you may not know
About this tiny little lot
Are the things they do, for me and you
Is remind for-get-me-nots

They turn katy-do’s into katydids
By teaching them to sing
And paint the brightest colors
On all the butterflies wings

They give raccoons their striped tails
Paint the rings around their eyes
They also help the humming birds
By teaching them to fly

They teach fishes how to swim
The owls how to hoot
And wouldn’t it be, the funniest thing
If penguins didn’t wear suits

You think that it’s so odd you say
To stand out in the rain
But then who would tie the ribbons
So that rainbows have a name

And if you ever wondered
Why robin’s eggs are blue
Well, I don’t have to tell you
It’s because of you know who

In the fall if you look closely
And are quiet as can be
You might just catch, oh, one or two
Out there painting all the leaves

They help out Mother Nature
She’s grateful for it too
After all she’s just one woman
With so many things to do

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