Never judge a book by its' cover

One for the kids

He reeked of fish and nastiness
was dishevelled, covered in goo,
spent most of his time perched on a rock
out to sea but just in view.
Sometimes though he would come ashore
and the kids would run and hide,
standing six feet six and as ugly as sin
of him they were terrified.

One day however curious Karl
short sighted to the point of blind,
was dared to talk to the giant stink
in the hope of a name to find.
So when he lumbered onto shore
Karl met him on the sand,
"hello sir I'm pleased to meet"
he said as he offered his hand.

The giant stink stopped in his tracks
gave the boy a quizzical look,
then softly held the offered hand
and very gently shook.
"I'm pleased to meet you too my boy
how are you this fine day,
and what is it that brings you here
to pass across my way"

Upon the prom the hiding kids
all gasped at what they saw,
certain that a grisly end
would come to Karl for sure.
As for many years the giant stink
was an ogre thought to be,
eating uncooked fish for breakfast
then small children for his tea.

But to their stunned amazement
they watched events unfold,
a story that in years to come
would be told and told and told.
The giant stink and curious Karl
conversing on the sand,
greeting like two long lost friends
warmly shaking each other's hand.

"Please tell me if you do not mind
your title or your name,
and if you do I'll tell you what,
I'll do the very same.
In fact I'll tell you my name first
it's Karl, mum calls me "k",
and you can call me that as well
cos we're friends as from today."

The giant stink looked at the boy
he thanked him in his mind,
this simple gesture showing that
goodness still lived in mankind.
A giant tear rolled down his cheek
he gave a giant sniff,
a seagull landed on his head
"A pleasure to meet you "K", I'm cliff"

Author's Note

Be interested to hear what any youngish kids of reviewers think of this,even my 14 year old daughter liked it,amazing!!!!
Name taken from,"what do you call a man with a seagull on his head?"........CLIFF
All of this to get a wee joke in :)

Reviews

[Dave Brown]

If this was meant for kids, I'm glad the kid in me happened across it

[John the Baptist]

Nicely rhymed, Gee. Proves that an act of kindness is never done in vain, even if you have to hold your nose when you do it.

[Gee]

Thank you JTB

[Robert Haigh]

A fun write, Gee. I'm sure kids of all ages (from 5 to 105) will enjoy this! It made me smile, and I'm just a big kid anyway!

[Gee]

Thank you Robert

[Chris Shaw]

I was drawn to read this one again Gee. Pleased to have done so. A fun write which appeals to the inner child.

Dare I ask? How are your cheeks and I'm not talking about the ones on your face:) How did your trip go?

Chris

[Gee]

Hi Christine, I am absolutely shattered. My butt is blistered and so, so, sore, no feeling in 2 toes on my right foot and I also fell off twice:) That region of France is experiencing a mini heatwave so temperatures were in the mid 30's. A very experienced cyclist on the trip described it as brutal. Never again for this old fella, that is my bit done.
Quite a few bailed on different days and one fella broke his arm and had to have his knee stitched.
Thanks for reading this again:)
Hope all is well with you.

[Chris Shaw]

Sounds like hell to me. You are one brave fella. Hope you heal quickly after this brutal but very worthwhile trip. You take care. Get some rest. All OK in my neck of the woods :)

[Papaya]

This is charming and so touching. Where have you been hiding this gem!?

[Gee]

lol, this is one of the first poems I posted, back in the day when I wrote everything with rhyme.read morelol, this is one of the first poems I posted, back in the day when I wrote everything with rhyme.
Have always told myself I would revisit it to tidy it up but have never done so. you
A friend who is a child minder still reads it to the kids in her charge.
Glad you liked :))))
Thank you

[Papaya]

I love it!

[Ken Simm.]

Marriot Edgar and Stanley Holloway eat you heart out. What a great monologue. I love it.

[Gee]

Marriott Edgar I will look up and read :)
Thanks Ken, hope you are in rude health.

[Cherrie Palmer]

AWESOME
I love to write for kids, those are the best stories to be told.
This had tension, flow, and the right amount of rhyme. This is a campfire treat.

[Gee]

Thank you kindly Cherrie

[emmajoy]

Wonderful metre, wonderful content, wonderful sense of place and person. Guess what, Gee... i think this is more than Christmassy how-it-should-be! Anyone want a tissue? (and i did get the CLIFF bit!)

'.. showing that goodness still existed in mankind. '

[Gee]

Thank you ma'am, glad you enjoyed.
Might dip my toe in to the rhyming again shortly to see what trouble I can get Santa into :))
Hope all is well with you EmmaJ

[Chris Shaw]

Really enjoyed this Gee, so you've brought the child out in me this morning. It's amusing and offbeat fun, so thank you for that. Hope you have a lovely Sunday.

Chris

[Gee]

Hi Christine, thank you. Just back from an hour of fitness training.....knackered. I feel every second of my 56 years. Hope you are having a good and restful Sunday.

[Chris Shaw]

Just been altering curtains, not the best entertainment for Sunday! Finished now though.

[matelotrod]

This is the sort of work I love to read, humour, story telling and thought provoking. Takes me back to my childhood when we loved everything that Mother Nature had to offer. made my day and has triggered me off to write one of my own. thanks for sharing. Rod.

[Gee]

Cheers Rod, glad you enjoyed. Thank you for commenting