-Read aloud for best effect-
The funniest thing in the world, I know,Is watchin' the monkeys'at's in the show!
Jumpin' an' runnin' an' racin' roun',
'Way up the top o' the pole; nen down!
First they're here, an' nen they're there,
An' ist a'most any an' ever'where!
Screechin' an' scratchin' wherever they go,
They're the funniest thing in the world, I know!
They're the funniest thing in the world, I think:
Funny to watch'em eat an' drink;
Funny to watch'em a-watchin' us,
An' actin''most like grown folks does!
Funny to watch'em p'tend to be
Skeerd at their tail'at they happen to see;
But the funniest thing in the world they do
Is never to laugh, like me an' you!
James Whitcomb Riley, A Hoosier poet from a place called Greenfield.
My grandmothers, both of them, had his books on their shelves and
quoted him to me from the time I was young.
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