To the elephant house the two Bears went And stirred up the biggest elephant, And marched him over to their cake Before he had time to get half awake.
“You mind these things,” said TEDDY-G, “Our breakfast hour is half-past three. If you are good you can have a snack To keep you chewing till we come back.” And they gave old Bolivar (that was his name) Some things to eat till back they came.
Copyright, 1907, by Edward Stern & Co., Inc.
“‘You mind these things,’ said TEDDY-G, ‘Our breakfast hour is half-past three.’” ]
Then off they went to the monkey cage Where monkeys of every size and age Were using hands and feet and lungs And saying good-morning in a thousand tongues.
TEDDY-B made them promise they’d be good (At least that’s what he understood) If he’d open the cage and let them out And give them an hour to run about.
“We have,” said he, “some pie and cake Which TEDDY-G will undertake To serve out free in an hour or two To every animal in the Zoo.
We’ll give you as much as you deserve If you’ll act as waiters and help us serve.” The monkeys grinned from ear to ear And winked at each other a little queer, And nodded their heads and seemed to say That the two Bears’ orders they’d obey.
The cage was opened and the crowd went out, Little and big, with laugh and shout, Upsetting each other across the green, The funniest bunch that was ever seen.
To bring on their tails to use for spoons.
They saw some foxes red and gray And asked them to dine with them that day. The wolves looked hungry and said they’d see That all left over was given them free.
The rhinoceros couldn’t accept their treat; He had some rheumatics in his feet. But in a cage near-by a kangaroo Jumped twenty feet when they let him through.
An ostrich standing six feet high Called out to the Bears as they went by To hurry around with a piece of pie.
Two mountain goats with curling horn Said the mountain crest where they were born,
Their father rented just for thanks To the Roosevelt Bears to play their pranks,
And this they thought was cause indeed Why they should be asked to the morning feed.
A hedgehog and a porcupine Were the next pair asked by the Bears to dine, Then a dromedary chewing his cud Said he wouldn’t budge from where he stood,