Escape of the Circus Animals

One August morning
Winter decided to come early
And so no one
Wanted to go to the circus.
It was unfortunately bad for business,
Which made the animals fear their masters' boss
Who angered more easily
Than a Chinese fighter fish
Facing off with one of its own.
And so
On the is snowy August morning
Elephant said
We really ought to leave here
and find someplace new to stay.

So the animals started singing
"I've Been Laboring on the Railway."
(And none of the deaf humans knew
That that is really how the song goes.)
And as they sang
They hammered away
With tooth and claw and hoof and tail and beak
At their cold and brittle locks
Until the locks cracked.
And quickly they formed a line
And tiptoed toward the entrance
So they could exit.
With Elephant leading the way
And Lion bringing up the rear
And everyone from Parrot and Horse
To Crocodile and Boa and Chimp in between,
They continued their exodus
To the entrance
From which they'd leave.

But soon the angry owner saw
From the reflection on his shiny watch
What was going on.
And while cursing everyone from Poe to Tennyson
To Silverstein and Seuss,
He ran out
Without his shoes
And consequently froze
His oddly shaped toes
Giving the animals more time for their escape.

They all followed their leader
To a place very few knew to be
Anything other than a public highway
And fewer still believed to be
Anything more than myth,
But faithful Elephant hoped to be true.
And upon finding the rock
With a faded symbol on it side
He knew what to say and what to do
To call for help.
Slightly impatiently they all waited
Knowing that soon
Animal control would get to them
If their helpers did not hurry.

But very suddenly
All the people in their cars looking on
Saw the strange group was gone.
But whether Scotty beamed them up
Or they were whisked off to Narnia
Or Hogwarts or Tatooine
No one was ever sure.
But the circus owner
Finally decided that he'd really like to be
An elementary school teacher instead.
And so after that day
Everyone lived
Somewhat more pleasantly than before.