THE BALLAD OF
THE NAUGHTY GLOW WORM
There lived a little glow worm
whose his tail shone oh-so bright,
you could often see him dancing
on a warm summer night.
But when it was time for bed
or he needed a little rest,
he’d turn off his bright tail light
with a switch, beneath his vest.
Gordon wasn’t a good boy,
he was, in fact, quite bad,
he’d sneak around, sniggering
and making everyone mad.
Stealing things and hiding them
and drinking all the juice,
until the people cried at once,
“There’s a burglar on the loose!”
So then he’d run away and hide
atop the nearest tree,
he’d turn off his bright tail-light
so nobody could see.
But one day, naughty Gordon,
had quite a nasty fright,
for no matter what he did
he just couldn’t turn off his light.
The switch was clearly broken
and though he tried and tried,
with such a clear bright tail
there was nowhere he could hide.
The village policeman chased him,
he was tired of his mischief,
he followed Gordon’s shining light
and caught the little thief.
He removed his switch and set him free,
so Gordon was always bright,
he couldn’t sneak about and hide
for his tail was always in sight.
*
Written by Darren Scanlon, 4th January 2014.
Revised 10th July 2016
Artwork by Angie Caira.
© 2016 Darren Scanlon. All rights reserved.
