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Down by a pond
In the park on my street
That's where you can find me
Almost seven days a week.
Sitting on a bench
Without a care in the world
Feeding all my favorite
Pigeons, ducks and squirrels.
Sometimes I'll lay down in the grass
Gazing up towards the sky
Finding pictures in the clouds
As they go gently rolling by.
Whatever you can think of
Will float by you sooner or later
Why, once I even saw a giant windmill
And a dancing alligator.
I've seen penguins riding horses,
A goat afloat in a boat,
I've seen kings and queens in submarines
And a castle with a moat.
Now some may say they are only clouds,
That daydreams are not worth while
But WE know it's fun
When imaginations run
Just a wee bit wild.
But today something was different
I did not know what it could be
Everything was strangely quiet, there were
No sounds; no clouds; no breeze!
Not one bird was flying in the sky;
No ducks swimming in the pond,
Not even a squirrel up in a tree
Or a person, here, there or beyond.
Then I heard a sound so faint
Like the beating of a drum
I looked around in hope to find
Where it was coming from.
Then way off in the distance
I saw something so small
It made me laugh
Because I had to squint my eyes to see
A tiny figure
Weaving down the path.
The closer and closer he came
The louder and louder he got
It seemed to me that maybe he was heading
For this very spot.
So I waited and I waited and
I watched him as much as I could
He was zipping here and zipping there
Over the hills and through the woods.
I heard him beat a big bass drum
Then ring a little bell
He was riding a unicycle
At least, as far as I could tell.
Who was this odd little fellow, I wondered?
What was he all about?
He is certainly a curiosity
Then I heard him shout
"Make way everybody, make way!
The Tickitty-Boo Parade is coming!
Everybody make way!"
Well, this is very strange I thought
And I really have to say
That I for one have never ever heard
Of a Tickitty-Boo Parade.
What in the world is a "Tickitty"?
What could be the meaning of "Boo"?
And when you put them both together you get
Another word that is totally new.
But, here is one thing I have learned
About words and figures and facts;
If you don't know what they mean,
All you have to do is ask.
So I tapped him on the shoulder
In the most polite of ways
"Excuse me sir, but I was wondering,
Could you please explain?"
"You see, Tickitty-Boo is something new
I have never heard before,
I don't know if it's fish or fowl." I sighed.
"I wish that I knew more."
"Certainly!" he said to me,
"That's what I'm here to do.
Quite simply put, it's everything." he said,
"Everything is Tickitty-Boo."
Then he sang this little verse:
"Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Everything is Tickitty-Boo.
Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Tickitty-Tickitty-Tickitty-Boo."
I shrugged my shoulders
And begged his pardon
With a puzzled look on my face.
But, he already knew
I still hadn't a clue
So he added "Let me put it this way."
"If I feel fine and you feel fine
And the day is beautiful too
If you would not change a thing
Then all is Tickitty-Boo.
If everything seems the way that it should
All in all, all is good
If every thing that you see
Is as it was meant to be
And if everything done under the sun
Is glorious, glorious, glorious fun,
Then!....."
(He took a big breath and began singing)
"Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Everything is Tickitty-Boo.
Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Tickitty-Tickitty-Tickitty-Boo."
"At last, at last!" I began to shout
"I think I know what you are talking about.
When someone asks "How are things with you?"
I answer Everything is Tickitty-Boo."
"Yes! Yes! I must confess." He replied,
"You've learned your lesson well
But, before you pass the final test
There's one more thing to tell.
I bring you an invitation
To join our celebration.
We dance and sing, we do many things
To pass the time of day.
We love to laugh that's why we have
A Tickitty-Boo parade.
So, please feel free to join us
You're welcome to, but first
When you march in our parade
You must recite a verse.
You can write whatever you like
The choice is yours to choose,
Your verse will be
Three thousand three hundred and three
It follows
Three thousand three hundred and two's."
"Count me in!" I said with a grin
"It all sounds Tickitty-Boo.
I love to dance and sing and laugh,
There's just one thing that I'd rather not do.
You see,
I'm not the kind who knows how to rhyme
In fact I could not be much worse.
I'm pretty good at writing upside-down
But I cannot do writing in verse.
Try as I might it never sounds right
My thoughts tend to wander and roam
When I'm thinking this- I'm writing down that
My brain seems to have a mind of it's own."
He scratched his head then winked and said
"I believe you will do fine
Just use your imagination
You never know unless you try.
Remember,
Every single person here on earth
Has within them their own little verse.
Now I must be on my way
To spread the word of fun
My work here is over
But yours has just begun."
And with that he rode off shouting;
"Make way everybody, make way!
The Tickitty-Boo Parade is coming!
Everybody make way!"
No sooner had he left,
I had barely taken a breath
When what did I see
Coming right towards me
But the Tickitty-Boo Parade.
What a wondrous sight to behold
I could not believe my eyes,
The parade was made up of
Short people, tall people,
Thick ones and thin,
In every shape and every size.
There were
Old people, young people
Triplets and twins,
Marching in line after line.
I saw cowboys and clowns
Doing cartwheels around
Jugglers juggling plates.
And in-between were seventeen
Monkeys on roller-skates.
There were nurses and sailors
And baseball players
Marching to the beat,
An acrobat was
Walking on his hands
And waving with his feet.
Leading the way of this grand parade
Was the flashiest one of them all
I had to look up just to see his knees
He must have been
At least ten feet tall.
He wore a Parade Marshals hat,
He carried a whistle and twirled a baton;
All the marchers followed his lead
As he proudly led them on.
Then he blew his shiny tin whistle
With a tweet-a-tweet-tweet
And a trill and a twistle
He raised his baton
With such style and such grace
That the whole parade stopped!
And began marching in it's place.
As they did this, they softly chanted in marching time:
"Boo!..Boo!.. Boo!..Boo!
Boo!..Boo!.. Boo!..Boo!"
Then the Parade Marshal counted off:
"One...
Two...
One..Two..Three..Four."
And everyone chanted in a whisper and nothing more:
"Tiddely-row!......Tiddely-rah!
Tiddely-rummy-dummy, fummy-dummy
Rope-back, soap-back
Sizzard in the gizzard
And a sis-boom-bah!
Then they said it once again, only this time,
They got louder and louder as they went along.
"Tiddely-row!......Tiddely-rah!
Tiddely-rummy-dummy, fummy-dummy
Rope-back, soap-back
Sizzard in the gizzard
And a sis-boom-bah!"
They all clapped their hands and cheered
He blew his whistle one more time.
Everybody started marching and singing
Their happy little rhyme:
"Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Everything is Tickitty-Boo.
Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Tickitty-Tickitty-Tickitty-Boo."
And they chanted over and over:
"Boo!..Boo!.. Boo!..Boo!
Boo!..Boo!.. Boo!..Boo!"
On they went
From dawn till dusk and dusk till dawn
They marched right past me one by one.
Stretching as far as the eye could see,
Each and every one of them stopped
And recited their poem
Just for me.
The first was a zoo-keeper
Who stepped out of place
He marched right up
Until we were face to face.
This was his poem:
"Lions are high, tigers are low
A mouse is the size of an elephants toe.
They live in the wild; they live in the zoo
Everything is Tickitty-Boo!"
Softly everyone chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
As he marched back
Into the line,
Out marched an animal trainer
At the very same time.
Here is what he had to say:
"Zebras are white, zebras are black
Which is which? I can never keep track.
The answer you pick is the one that is true,
Everything is Tickitty-Boo!"
Softly everyone chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Then everyone sang:
"Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Everything is Tickitty-Boo.
Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Tickitty-Tickitty-Tickitty-Boo."
Softly everyone chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Next came a young boy with his poem:
"Hat on my head, me in my shirt
Boys wearing pants, girls wearing skirts
Foot in a sock, sock in a shoe
Everything is Tickitty-Boo!"
Softly everyone chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Then came a tuba-player
From one of the marching bands,
And this is what he said:
"Left foot, right foot, left foot, right
I walk this way day and night,
If this is the way that you walk too,
Everything is Tickitty-Boo!"
Softly everyone chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Then everyone sang:
"Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Everything is Tickitty-Boo.
Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Tickitty-Tickitty-Tickitty-Boo."
Softly everyone chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
The parade marshal blew his whistle,
Everyone stopped and chanted:
"Tiddely-row!......Tiddely-rah!
Tiddely-rummy-dummy, fummy-dummy
Rope-back, soap-back
Sizzard in the gizzard
And a sis-boom-bah!
Once again, they got louder and louder as they went.
"Tiddely-row!......Tiddely-rah!
Tiddely-rummy-dummy, fummy-dummy
Rope-back, soap-back
Sizzard in the gizzard
And a sis-boom-bah!"
And when I took another look
Along came a teacher carrying books.
Her poem went like this:
"I teach children A-B-Cs
Science and nature and 1-2-3s.
If you still know what you once knew,
Everything is Tickitty-Boo!"
Softly everyone chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
She was followed by a fireman who said,
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
Putting out fires I feel that I must
Make the world safe for me and for you,
Everything is Tickitty-Boo!"
Softly everyone chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Then everyone sang:
"Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Everything is Tickitty-Boo.
Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Tickitty-Tickitty-Tickitty-Boo."
Softly everyone chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Next came a woman who liked to work in her garden.
This was her poem;
Roses are red, carnations are pink
Tulips are orange or yellow I think
Put them together with violets of blue,
Everything is Tickitty-Boo!
Everyone chanted
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Then, wearing an apron and a puffy white hat
Came a baker and this is what he had to say:
"Bread in the oven, buns on the rack
Twelve in a dozen, six to a pack.
If you like chocolatey things to chew,
Everything is Tickitty-Boo!"
Softly everyone chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Then everyone sang:
"Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Everything is Tickitty-Boo.
Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Tickitty-Tickitty-Tickitty-Boo."
Softly everyone chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
The parade marshal blew his whistle once again,
Everyone stopped and chanted:
"Tiddely-row!......Tiddely-rah!
Tiddely-rummy-dummy, fummy-dummy
Rope-back, soap-back
Sizzard in the gizzard
And a sis-boom-bah!
Once again, they got louder and louder as they went.
"Tiddely-row!......Tiddely-rah!
Tiddely-rummy-dummy, fummy-dummy
Rope-back, soap-back
Sizzard in the gizzard
And a sis-boom-bah!"
Softly everyone chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Finally I saw the end of the parade
So I thought that it was through
When what did I spy on the very last guy
But the number
Three thousand three hundred and two.
Suddenly I remembered
What that odd little fellow said to me.
Word for word he said, "Your verse will be
Three thousand three hundred and three."
"Oh-No, Oh-No!" I sadly moaned
"My verse is the next one to be heard,
I was so busy watching this wonderful parade
That I had not even written one single word."
What was I to do?
I could not let my new friends down
If they would give me just a little more time
I'm sure I could do it, some way, somehow.
So they waited.. and chanted.. and waited
While I thought and I thought and I thought.
I looked for lines that I could rhyme,
Do you think I could find them? I could not!
Then suddenly it came to me,
I would write about things that I know.
My imagination began to soar
And the words began to flow.
Before I even knew it
My poem was all complete
I was so, so happy
That I sprang up to my feet.
Everybody listened to every word I spoke
As I announced to them all
Here is what I wrote:
I sit on my bench here in the park
I feed the ducks until it gets dark
Watching the clouds in the sky of blue
Everything is Tickitty-Boo!
Everyone cheered and chanted
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo!
Then we all sang
"Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Everything is Tickitty-Boo.
Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Tickitty-Tickitty-Tickitty-Boo."
We all chanted:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
The parade marshal marched up
And saluted me.
He wrote on my back "3,303".
"Congratulations, your poem was divine."
I smiled and took my place
At the end of the line.
As we marched through the park
We laughed, we sang and had fun
Then I started thinking,
Was I the very last one?
It seemed to me in all honesty
There should be at least one verse more.
I looked around but could not find
Verse three thousand three hundred and four.
Then I happened to spy
In the corner of my eye
Someone reading a book and I knew
That verse three thousand three hundred and four
Was the verse that belonged to YOU!
So, if you'd like to come with us
Spreading happiness and cheer
We welcome you, all you have to do is
Write your poem here:
(Line 1)..................
(Line 2)..................
(Line 3)..................
(Line 4).. Everything is Tickitty-Boo!
Hooray! Hooray! That's the way,
Give yourself a star.
The parade marshal wanted me to tell you
It's our very best poem so far.
Now our parade is all complete
It's the finest in the land
Thanks to you it is Tickitty-Boo
Please give yourself a hand.
And now won't you please join us as we chant:
"Tiddely-row!......Tiddely-rah!
Tiddely-rummy-dummy, fummy-dummy
Rope-back, soap-back
Sizzard in the gizzard
And a sis-boom-bah!
This time let's get louder.
"Tiddely-row!......Tiddely-rah!
Tiddely-rummy-dummy, fummy-dummy
Rope-back, soap-back
Sizzard in the gizzard
And a sis-boom-bah!"
Now let's sing
"Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Everything is Tickitty-Boo.
Everything is Tickitty-Tickitty
Tickitty-Tickitty-Tickitty-Boo."
Softly we chant:
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Boo..Boo..Boo..Boo..!
Then the parade marshal blew his whistle
And we were on our way.
We saw that odd little fellow way up front,
We all could hear him say
"Make way everybody, make way!
The Tickitty-Boo Parade is coming!
Everybody make way!"
And everyone smiled because everyone knew that
Everything is Tickitty-Boo!
THE END
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