Once upon a jungleIn a land not far away There was an awful bungle In a den where lions lay. There were two mighty lions...I’ve made a mistake there...One was a mighty lioness, Now, that’s being right and fair. These two awesome beasties Were parents fond and proudOf a litter of loitering lion cubsThat called out clear and loud.The lion cubs, they grew on,And soon they lost their mew, All but the strongest, oldest son.Oh, What could his parents do?They tried to make him roar, And practiced through the night,That only left them tired ‘n’ sore,But couldn’t put him right!They tried to keep it secret,A shame to them, my dear,Till the nosy egretheard him loud and clear.Rattled her little birdbrain,Looked to the left and right...Sounded like a cat in pain...There wasn’t a cat in sight!And then she had him spottedThe poor lion that mewed Through the forest he trottedTo practice and to brood.The egret told the jackal,The monkey and the snail,Soon the message reached them all,A sad and funny tale.They called the poor guy Jelly BeanTo make him feel more small.I wonder why they were so mean...But sometimes, aren’t we all?Poor Jelly Bean, the lionWe’ll call him JB, fine?Spoke not, was always sighing,But looked quite leonine.Dear JB, our sad hero,Just waited for the dayHe’d prove he wasn’t a zeroAnd roar their taunts away.The monkey caught him one day,And challenged him to gulpA bush of fruit, so red and gay,Or chew it down to pulp.«My only chance», thought JB,And opened his jaws so wideThe monkey shinnied up a tree,He knew he had to hide!The charge was straight and fast,The jaws clamped hard and tight, The fruit went in, down to the last,Oh! what a dreadful bite!Poor JB, oh he knew notIt was a chilly tree,All he felt was burning pain.A happy tragedy.For as the pain tore through,JB thought he’d dieHe screamed his loudest, not a mew,
