diff --git a/seuss_1937_mulberry-street.md b/seuss_1937_mulberry-street.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b281492 --- /dev/null +++ b/seuss_1937_mulberry-street.md @@ -0,0 +1,206 @@ +--- +id: +aliases: [] +title: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street +tags: + - exclude-from-word-count + - type/media/poetry +author: Dr. Seuss +date: 1937 +--- +# And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street + +When I leave home to walk to school, \ +Dad always says to me, \ +"Marco, keep your eyelids up \ +And see what you can see." + +But when I tell him where I've been \ +And what what I think I've seen, \ +He looks at me and sternly says, \ +"Your eyesight's much too keen. + +"Stop telling such outlandish tales. \ +Stop turning minnows into whales." + +Now, what can I say \ +When I get home today? + +\ + +All the long way to school \ +And all the way back, \ +I've looked and I've looked \ +And I've kept careful track, \ +But all that I've noticed, \ +Except my own feet, \ +Was a horse and a wagon \ +On Mulberry Street. + +\ + +That's nothing to tell of, \ +That won't do, of course . . . \ +Just a broken-down wagon \ +That's drawn by a horse. + +That _can't_ be my story. That's only a _start_. \ +I'll say that a ZEBRA was pulling that cart! \ +And that is a story that no one can beat, \ +When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street. + +\ + +Yes, the zebra is fine, \ +But I think it's a shame, \ +Such a marvelous beast \ +With a cart that's so tame. \ +The story would really be better to hear \ +If the driver I saw were a charioteer. \ +A gold and blue chariot's _something_ to meet, \ +Rumbling like thunder down Mulberry Street! + +\ + +No, it won't do at all... \ +A zebra's too small. + +A reindeer is better; \ +He's fast and he's fleet, + +And he'd look mighty smart \ +On old Mulberry Street. + +\ + +Hold on a minute! \ +There's something wrong! + +A reindeer hates the way it feels \ +To pull a thing that runs on wheels. + +He'd be much happier, instead, \ +If he could pull a fancy sled. + +\ + +Hmmmm . . . \ +A reindeer and sleigh . . . + +Say---_anyone_ could think of that, \ +Jack or Fred ог Joe or Nat--- \ +Say, even Jane could think of _that_. + +But it isn't too late to make one little change \ +A sleigh and an ELEPHANT! _There's_ something strange! + +I'll pick one with plenty of power and size, \ +A blue one with plenty of fun in his eyes. \ +And then, just to give him a little more tone, \ +Have a Rajah, with rubies, perched high on a throne. + +Say! That makes a story that _no one_ can beat, \ +When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street. + +\ + +But now I don't know... \ +It still doesn't seem right. + +An elephant pulling a thing that's so light \ +Would whip it around in the air like a kite. + +But he'd look simply grand \ +With a great big brass band! + +\ + +A band that's so good should have someone to hear it, \ +But it's going so fast that it's hard to keep near it. \ +ГІЇ put on a trailer! I know they won't mind \ +If a man sits and listens while hitched on behind. + +But now is it fair? Is it fair what I've done? \ +I'll bet those wagons weigh more than a ton. \ +That's really too heavy a load for one beast; \ +I'll give him some helpers. He needs two, at least. + +\ + +But now what worries me is this . . \ +Mulberry Street runs into Bliss. + +Unless there's something I can fix up, \ +There'll be an awful traffic mix-up! + +\ + +It takes Police to do the trick, \ +То guide them through where traffic's thick--- \ +It takes Police to do the trick. + +They'll never crash now. They'll race at top speed \ +With Sergeant Mulvaney, himself, in the lead. + +\ + +The Mayor is there \ +And the Aldermen too, \ +All waving big banners \ +Of red, white and blue. + +The Mayor is there \ +And he thinks it is grand, \ +And he raises his hat \ +As they dash by the stand. + +And that is a story that NO ONE can beat \ +When I say that I saw it on Mulberry Street! + +\ + +With a roar of its motor an airplane appears \ +And dumps out confetti while everyone cheers + +And that makes a story that's really not bad! \ +But it still could be better. Suppose that I add . . . . . . . + +\ + +A Chinaman \ +Who eats with sticks. . . . + +A big Magician \ +Doing tricks . . . + +A ten-foot beard \ +That needs a comb. . . . + +No time for more, \ +I'm almost home. + +\ + +I swung 'round the corner \ +And dashed through the gate, \ +I ran up the steps \ +And I felt simply GREAT! + +FOR I HAD A STORY THAT **NO ONE** COULD BEAT! \ +AND TO THINK THAT I SAW IT ON MULBERRY STREET! + +But Dad said quite calmly, \ +"Just draw up your stool \ +And tell me the sights \ +On the way home from school." + +There was so much to tell, I JUST COULDN'T BEGIN! \ +Dad looked at me sharply and pulled at his chin. \ +He frowned at me sternly from there in his seat, \ +"Was there nothing to look at . . . no people to greet? \ +Did _nothing_ excite you or make your heart beat?" + +\ + +"Nothing," I said, growing red as a beet, \ +"But a plain horse and wagon on Mulberry Street."