The snail and the whale
I've got it! It's amazing.
The snail and the whale by Julia Donaldson
This is the tale of a tiny snail
And a great big grey-blue humpback whale.
This is a rock as black as soot
And this is a snail with an itchy foot.
The sea snail slithered all over the rock
And gazed at the sea and the ships in the dock.
And as she gazed, she sniffed and sighed.
“The sea is deep and the world is wide.
“How I long to sail”, said the tiny snail.
These are the other snails in the flock
Who all stuck tight to the smooth black rock
And said to the snail with the itchy foot,
“Be quiet! Don’t wriggle! Sit still! Stay put!”
But the tiny sea snail sighed and sniffed, then cried,
“I’ve got it!I’ll hitch a lift.”
This is the trail that looped and curled and said,
“Lift wanted around the world.”
This is the whale who came one night
When the tide was high and the stars were bright.
A humpback whale, immensely long,
Who sang to the snail a wonderful song
Of shimmering ice and coral caves
And shooting stars and enormous waves.
And this is the tail of the humpback whale.
He held itout of the starlit sea
And said to the snail,
“Come sail with me.”
This is the sea, so wild and free
that carried the whale and the snail on his tail
To towering icebergs and far-offs lands
with fiery mountains and golden sands.
There are the waves that arched and crashed,
That foamed and frolicked and sprayed and splashed
The tiny snail on the tail of the whale.
These are the caves beneath the waves
Where stripy fish with feathery fins
And sharks with a hideous toothy grins
swam around the whale and the snail on his tail.
This is a sky, so vast and high.
Sometimes sunny and blue and warm.
Sometimes filled with a thunderstorm.
With zigzag lightening, flashing and frightening
The tiny snail on the tail of the whale.
And she gazed at the sky, the sea, the land,
The waves and the caves and the golden sands.
She gazed and gazed, amazed by it all.
And she said to the whale, “I feel so small.”
But then came the day the whale lost his way.
These are the speedboats running a race,
ZIgging and zooming all over the place.
Upsetting the whale with their ear-splitting roar,
Making him swim too close to the shore.
This is the tide slipping away
And this is the whale lying beached in the bay.
“Quick, off the sand,
back to sea,” cried the snail.
“I can’t move on land.
I’m too big,” Moaned the whale.
The snail felt helpless and terribly small.
Then,”I’ve got it! “ she cried.
And started to crawl.
“I must not fail,” said the tiny snail.
This is the bell on the school in the bay
Ringing the children in from their play.
This is the teacher holding her chalk,
Telling the class,
“Sit straight, don’t talk.”
This is the board, as black as soot.
And this is the snail with the itchy foot.
“A snail! A snail!” the teacher turns pale.
“Look!” say the children, “It’s leaving a trail.”
This is the trail of the tiny snail.
A silvery trail saying, “Save the whale,”
These are the children running from school,
Fetching the firemen, digging a pool,
Squirting and spraying to keep the whale cool.
This is the tide coming intothe bay
And these are the villagers shouting,
“Hooray!”
As the whale and the snail travel safety away.
Back to the dock and the flock on the rock, Who said
“How times’s flown,” and “Haven”t you grown!”
And the whale and the snail told their wonderful tale
Of shimmering ice and coral caves
And shooting stars and enormous waves.
And of how the snail, so small and frail,
With her looping, curling, silvery trail,
Saved the life of the humpback whale.
And the humpback whale held out his tail
And on crawled snail after snail after snail
And they sang to the sea as they all set sail
On they sang to the sae as they all set sail
On the tail of the grey-blue humpback whale
The snail and the whale by Julia Donaldson
This is the tale of a tiny snail
And a great big grey-blue humpback whale.
This is a rock as black as soot
And this is a snail with an itchy foot.
The sea snail slithered all over the rock
And gazed at the sea and the ships in the dock.
And as she gazed, she sniffed and sighed.
“The sea is deep and the world is wide.
“How I long to sail”, said the tiny snail.
These are the other snails in the flock
Who all stuck tight to the smooth black rock
And said to the snail with the itchy foot,
“Be quiet! Don’t wriggle! Sit still! Stay put!”
But the tiny sea snail sighed and sniffed, then cried,
“I’ve got it!I’ll hitch a lift.”
This is the trail that looped and curled and said,
“Lift wanted around the world.”
This is the whale who came one night
When the tide was high and the stars were bright.
A humpback whale, immensely long,
Who sang to the snail a wonderful song
Of shimmering ice and coral caves
And shooting stars and enormous waves.
And this is the tail of the humpback whale.
He held itout of the starlit sea
And said to the snail,
“Come sail with me.”
This is the sea, so wild and free
that carried the whale and the snail on his tail
To towering icebergs and far-offs lands
with fiery mountains and golden sands.
There are the waves that arched and crashed,
That foamed and frolicked and sprayed and splashed
The tiny snail on the tail of the whale.
These are the caves beneath the waves
Where stripy fish with feathery fins
And sharks with a hideous toothy grins
swam around the whale and the snail on his tail.
This is a sky, so vast and high.
Sometimes sunny and blue and warm.
Sometimes filled with a thunderstorm.
With zigzag lightening, flashing and frightening
The tiny snail on the tail of the whale.
And she gazed at the sky, the sea, the land,
The waves and the caves and the golden sands.
She gazed and gazed, amazed by it all.
And she said to the whale, “I feel so small.”
But then came the day the whale lost his way.
These are the speedboats running a race,
ZIgging and zooming all over the place.
Upsetting the whale with their ear-splitting roar,
Making him swim too close to the shore.
This is the tide slipping away
And this is the whale lying beached in the bay.
“Quick, off the sand,
back to sea,” cried the snail.
“I can’t move on land.
I’m too big,” Moaned the whale.
The snail felt helpless and terribly small.
Then,”I’ve got it! “ she cried.
And started to crawl.
“I must not fail,” said the tiny snail.
This is the bell on the school in the bay
Ringing the children in from their play.
This is the teacher holding her chalk,
Telling the class,
“Sit straight, don’t talk.”
This is the board, as black as soot.
And this is the snail with the itchy foot.
“A snail! A snail!” the teacher turns pale.
“Look!” say the children, “It’s leaving a trail.”
This is the trail of the tiny snail.
A silvery trail saying, “Save the whale,”
These are the children running from school,
Fetching the firemen, digging a pool,
Squirting and spraying to keep the whale cool.
This is the tide coming intothe bay
And these are the villagers shouting,
“Hooray!”
As the whale and the snail travel safety away.
Back to the dock and the flock on the rock, Who said
“How times’s flown,” and “Haven”t you grown!”
And the whale and the snail told their wonderful tale
Of shimmering ice and coral caves
And shooting stars and enormous waves.
And of how the snail, so small and frail,
With her looping, curling, silvery trail,
Saved the life of the humpback whale.
And the humpback whale held out his tail
And on crawled snail after snail after snail
And they sang to the sea as they all set sail
On they sang to the sae as they all set sail
On the tail of the grey-blue humpback whale