Adventures Of Isabel
~ Ogden Nash
Isabel met an enormous bear,
Isabel, Isabel, didn't care;
The bear was hungry, the bear was ravenous,
The bear's big mouth was cruel and cavernous.
The bear said, Isabel, glad to meet you,
How do, Isabel, now I'll eat you!
Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry.
Isabel didn't scream or scurry.
She washed her hands and she straightened her hair up,
Then Isabel quietly ate the bear up.
Once in a night as black as pitch
Isabel met a wicked old witch.
the witch's face was cross and wrinkled,
The witch's gums with teeth were sprinkled.
Ho, ho, Isabel! the old witch crowed,
I'll turn you into an ugly toad!
Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry,
Isabel didn't scream or scurry,
She showed no rage and she showed no rancor,
But she turned the witch into milk and drank her.
Isabel met a hideous giant,
Isabel continued self reliant.
The giant was hairy, the giant was horrid,
He had one eye in the middle of his forhead.
Good morning, Isabel, the giant said,
I'll grind your bones to make my bread.
Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry,
Isabel didn't scream or scurry.
She nibbled the zwieback that she always fed off,
And when it was gone, she cut the giant's head off.
Isabel met a troublesome doctor,
He punched and he poked till he really shocked her.
The doctor's talk was of coughs and chills
And the doctor's satchel bulged with pills.
The doctor said unto Isabel,
Swallow this, it will make you well.
Isabel, Isabel, didn't worry,
Isabel didn't scream or scurry.
She took those pills from the pill concocter,
And Isabel calmly cured the doctor.
Blissful early afternoon departure from the office to collect the children today. Thanks to a leadership vacuum, things are imploding on the work front so I'm glad to be out of there. A quick whirl around the supermarket to collect some provisions and here we are on the deck eating home-made lemon icy poles and Anzac biscuits. Magic.
On these days, we like to indulge in what I call 'extreme shopping' with a dangerous edge. The challenge is to park in a five minute zone and charge, with three children in tow, into the shops, fill one or two baskets with fresh provisions for the next two days, possibly taste-test a cheese scroll at Baker's Delight on the way out, and get back before the parking inspector does his rounds. I rarely see them and they are highly visible in bright vests, so it is a calculated risk. If I did meet one, however, like Isabel, I would chew his ear off and contest the fine. Sadly, this is the nearest I get to outdoor adventures these days. In my urbanised world, parking inspectors are the equivalent of grizzly bears.
Image: Even Cleveland
