Jan Brzechwa
The Zoo

Silly Billy in a zoo
Keeps on calling out: U-u!
What an ugly parrot, eek!
That giraffe is a tall freak!
Elephants should be on wheels!
And what’s up with all those seals?
Zebra needs a stripy bra!
Tiger’s claw..
And what a jaw!
And what's that under the roof:
Tortoise – cluck, cluck – what a goof!
And this birdie? Well, that’s rich!
Little birdie -
An ostrich!
Then he gets to camels’ pen
Looks in closely, looks again
Points through bars and states a fact:
Would be nice but it’s hunchbacked!
 TIGER 
Tiger, Sir, how is your day?
Pretty dull I have to say.
Would you like to leave this zoo?
Sure. Then I could feed on you! 
OSTRICH 
When she’s scared, you understand,
Ostrich sticks her head in sand,
She’s a wimp, agreed, alright…
But her eggs are quite a sight! 
PARROT 
Little parrot, over here!
Whisper something in my ear.
No! You’ll gossip, I can tell,
Soon each bird will know as well. 
FOX
Dad and gramps red to their teeth,
This red tail is my bequeath,
And my name’s red fox, alright?
Move along or I will bite. 
WOLF 
Let me make it very clear,
About wolves like this one here:
Be glad it’s a picture really,
Otherwise he’d eat you, silly. 
TORTOISE 
Tortoise thought: let’s take the train,
But the fare is quite a pain.
Such a sum comes as a shock:
Will be faster if I walk. 
ZEBRA 
Is that zebra for real?
Does it somewhere live still?
Or did some silly fool
Paint these stripes on a mule?
KANGAROO 
I say, that's one outsized shoe,
Mr kangaroo!
Yea,  but that’s why every pair
Of my socks has a big tear. 
BUFFALO 
Let us go and say hello
To our favourite buffalo.
Buffalo, please don't say no,
Bow politely… there you go!
BOAR 
Boars are boorish, boars are wild,
Boars' twin tusks are sharp and riled,
If you see one in the wood,
Climb a tree fast, understood? 
REINDEER 
As they visit the reindeer,
Ladies find his charm sincere
When he says: I’d really love,
To become milady’s glove. 
MONKEY 
Monkeys rarely touch the ground,
Monkeys love monkeying around.
Have a look at that baboon:
What an apish ape, that loon!
CROCODILE 
Where’d you come from, crocodile?
Me? The Nile.
Let me out just for a while,
And I’ll take you to the Nile. 
GIRAFFE
The giraffe’s main occupation,
Is her long neck’s elevation,
I admit I envy her,
I could never reach up there. 
LION 
Lion gets the lion’s share.
Lion mocks all foes a-scare,
For when he lets out a roar,
There’s no challenge anymore.   
BEAR 
Ladies, gents, meet our bear.
He's polite beyond compare.
Shake his paw, he’s very tame.
Doesn’t want to? That’s a shame. 
PANTHER 
Panther’s spotted head to toe,
But when it is time to go,
Dashing runs wind through her fur,
And spots can't keep up with her. 
ELEPHANT 
Our elephant named Moozit,
Has a trunk but doesn’t use it.
Why? Don’t stick your nose in that –
That’s his private etiquette. 
CAMEL 
Camel carries his two humps,
As if they were two gold lumps.
And gets pretty mad at me,
When he hears he can’t have three.

(Translated by: Witold Wojtaszko)