Just for Kids

Egypt.. One, Two, Three

By Margo Wayman

One scarab beetle scurries along the ground,

Rolling its dung ball into a mound.

It has two big legs in front and is metallic green;

The most unusual beetle that you have ever seen

Two crocodiles that lived in the Nile

Swam up the river for nearly a mile.

Their tails moved back and forth to help them go.

They have sharp teeth for eating rats or hippo.

Three glossy black ibis fought over a fish

That was swimming in the reeds; its tail going swish.

They all tried to poke it with their pointy beaks,

As none of them had eaten one in several weeks.

Four furry fenecs, all reddish brown

Ran around the desert and then through the town.

Their fluffy long tails stuck up high in the air

As the foxes ran around a tree, then back into their lair.

Five great pharaohs sat upon their thrones.

All of them were bored, so they played with some bones.

One called his servant to come and make them laugh.

It didn’t work, so they all went and took a bath.

Six mummies walked among the tombs each night,

Wrapped tightly in bandages, they could give you a fright!

A big black hole gaped open there their nose once was.

The mummies groaned; wouldn’t you if you were wrapped in gauze?

Seven forked-tongue asps slithered along the hot sand,

Hissing with pointed fangs; they were feared throughout the land.

Behind the Sphinx, or up a date palm they would go.

If one fell on you, you’d soon scream, “OH NO!”

Eight one-humped camels went to market laden with goods,

Ridden by their masters wearing long robes with hoods.

Spitting and biting, the camels fought each step,

Until they reached the oasis, where all eight of them slept.

Nine Nile perch went swimming up the river one day,

Leaping and frolicking, and wanting to play.

They didn’t see the barge with Cleopatra’s sail,

And found they’d soon be dinner, caught in Caesar’s pail.

Ten scorpions ran up the Bedouin’s tent,

And clung to a pole that was wooden and bent.

When the wind blew they all fell inside

And landed in a fire, where all ten of them died.

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