A View Of The Zoo Poem by Ernestine Northover

I think I'll stick my neck out, decided the Giraffe,
But if I do than everyone will surely start to laugh,
It really is no picnic up here at these heady heights,
It can get extremely windy and very cold most nights.

I shall do lots of walking and stalking, the Lion said,
There are many things I'm fond of so I must gently tread,
I am quite a slinky fellow, who knows his way about,
And I think with my persona, I carry lots of clout.

I'm a Rhino Sir, I'll decide who I will charge today,
And if I start to face you, you had better run away
For with this great big horn that is positioned on my face,
I could send you jetting off to virtually any place.

Consider me a snappy chappy, said the Crocodile,
I really am quite wonderful, when you behold my smile,
I'm very good at camouflage, you wouldn't know I'm there,
I'd creep up on you silently. Ignore me if you dare.

I 'm positively jumpy said a chatty kangaroo,
It's very hard to settle in a slightly crowded zoo
The way I bounce I'm actually, in need of lots of space,
So I'll leap over this old fence, and find another base.

Hi, I'm a hefty Hippo, I'm a happy sort of bloke
I wallow in the river and enjoy a real good soak,
The muddier the better, it's marvellous for my skin,
I advance out of the water, as clean as a new pin.

People stare cos I'm a Panda, I'm very rare you know,
Parts of me are black as jet, and the others white as snow,
I've come all the way from China, my diet is bamboo,
I'm a very furtive creature, my private life's taboo.

Hello, I'm a carefree Camel, today I've got the humps,
I'm worried, as I'm not sure whether they are lumps or bumps,
I'm a traveller from the desert, land of sun and sand,
I can carry you vast distances, all at your command.

Now all of us would like you please, to come along and see,
That we are settled happily, in our captivity,
Our apartments they are spacious and very well designed,
And we are never hungry, and all the trained staff are kind.