Jumbo’S Dream

“Listen, my children, and you shall here,” Not the “midnight ride of Paul Revere,” But a dream of the elephant, Jumbo fine, Who measured standing say nine feet nine,―― His dream of the animals at the Zoo. Of course you know them just as I do; The lion, the tiger, the grizzly bear, Old Jumbo. Yes? Well then you’ll care To hear of what the animals planned In old Jumbo’s dream, a really grand Scheme together down by the pond; Caretakers asleep; their keepers fond―― A plan to learn the human way Of learning and playing, et cetera. A college they wanted with flags and cheers Like Yale and Harvard――you know, my dears. First, old Jumbo called for order there By the old swan pond; he held the chair. He looked them over with kindly eye Then waved his trunk and with lordly cry Proposed that they have a college grand―― Professors and such, and a college band, With college colors; but first a yell Like the college boys; for he knew full well That a college cheer by the animals there Would wonderful be beyond compare. He straightway appointed of parrots five To choose a cheer real loud and live To start off their college so grand and fine In eighteen hundred and ninety-nine. The parrot committee composed a cheer; It went exactly like this, my dear: “Hiss, squeal, roar, Roar, roar, more, Grunt, yell, chatter; Hurrah for college and Alma Mater.” They practiced this cheer, oh! time on time; The parrots leading the cheering line; A terrible, fearfully mixed-up noise, Fifty times worse than the college boys, For the snake would hiss and the monkeys squeal; The lion would roar till one could feel The ground all tremble from noise he made Like soldiers marching on dress parade; The hyena let out such a mighty yell That the leaves most off the branches fell; The geese would cackle, the baboons chatter, And all for college and alma mater. “’Twill never do,” said the elephant sad――, For the cheer was really “righty” bad. He looked discouraged, with face awry, While a tear appeared in each small eye; He heaved a big sigh, then looking around―― Awakened all trembling upon the ground. So ended his dream of a college fine, With parrots leading the cheering line. He looked at his keeper as if to say: “I’ll never again eat a bale of hay; For such overeating most always means The most impossible kind of dreams. Come take we a walk, good old Keeper Jack, With the kiddies a-hanging on my back; With the kiddies, dear old Keeper, I say, On my big broad back the livelong day.”