Prompt: What is your favorite animal?

What is my favourite animal? I really have no clue!
I’ve pondered by the fireplace, meditated in the loo.
I’ve weighed the pros and cons of every beast I know,
But indecision follows me everywhere I go.

The lion has a fabulous and fluffy mane,
But have you seen his dentist bill? Insaine!
While the otter holds a pebble in its pouchy hands so neat,
But have you heard his terrible jokes? They’re really not a treat.

The sloth is most relatable, a sleepy, gentle soul,
But if we raced for snacklettes, he’d never reach the goal.
The penguin wears a tuxedo, very dapper, very smart,
But breaking up a dance floor? He could never really start.

I love the clever octopus, with limbs they can contort,
But think of all the socks they’d lose! A tragic, soggy sort.
While the noble, stomping elephant commands a regal awe,
But playing hide-and-seek with one has one gigantic flaw.

What about the duck-billed platypus! Now there’s a funny start,
A mammal-avian-reptile, stitched with Frankensteinian art.
But choosing something so absurd might raise a brow or two,
“Your favourite’s that? Oh, dear,” they’d say. “He hasn’t got a clue.”

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun – The frumious Bandersnatch!”
He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought —
So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought. (©Lewis Carroll)

So here I stand, bewildered, in this creature-crowded zoo,
With admiration for them all, but not one favourite true.
Perhaps I’ll just decide upon the mysterious, rare old “Nargle”—
A beast that’s made of whimsy and a the slightest hint of a snargle.

And when you ask me what it is, I’ll give a knowing grin,
And say, “It’s quite a story! Shall we start from the begin?”
My favourite animal, you see, I really have no notion.
A lifetime of delightful, fuzzy, feathery, finned commotion.

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© Joseph R Mason/Richard J Kirk – 2025. If you want to know why, see: About Me…

Extract from The JABBERWOCKY by Lewis Carroll ©Lewis Carroll

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