I was lying in bed, quietly reading a book

When a snake slithered over

Whispered ‘give us a look‘

Well I told him quite plain

Snakes are not known for reading

But he slithered up closer

Saying ‘seeing is believing‘

And proceeded to read from the place I left off

With not even a stutter or a tickly cough

So I told him for sure

You are quite an orator

He said we all pick it up either sooner or later

Well I would have said stop as it was getting quite late

But he’d just finished seven and was on chapter eight

So I managed to tell him I was really quite proud

But can snakes read to themselves

He said no ‘just aloud’

Well by chapter nine

I was feeling quite vexed

But he just kept on going

One chapter after the next

I told him right there that I needed my slumber

But the pages kept tuning

I forget now the number

Well by three in the morning

The last page was read

And I’d not had a wink, so I quietly said

You are such a good reader - we must do it again

He replied ‘thank you kindly, how’s tomorrow at ten’

So the moral my friend

When the day meets its ending

Is to say what you mean

Don’t be scared of offending

Don’t judge books by their covers

And it has to be said

Leave the snakes in the grass - don’t invite them to bed

Richard Lee  October 2006