Grabby Versnatchen

Grabby Versnatchen was a curious girl
With long golden hair
That hung down in curls
And the prettiest bright eyes
You ever could find
But these were nothing compared
To her bright, curious mind

One day in the woods
While walking from school
She found a strange fruit
Atop a toadstool

“Why, this fruit is new!
The strangest I’ve seen -
It has little red hairs
And flowers of green.
It looks quite delicious,
What harm could it bring
To try a new fruit
Like this odd little thing?”

But her mother had warned her
Many a time
“Don’t try new fruits -
Beware what you find!
For some fruits are good
And some fruits are bad,
You’d better just stick
To the fruits that you’ve had.”

This didn’t make sense
To Grabby’s curious mind
“Why should I leave
This new fruit behind?
What harm could it do
To have just a taste?
To not try new things
Could be such a waste.”

So Grabby ignored
Her mother’s advice
And tried the new fruit
And then tried it twice
It was really unlike
Any fruit that she’d had
“How could Mother say
That new fruits are bad?”

The next day she decided
To walk through the woods
And find just as many
New fruits as she could

She found fruits colored orange
And yellow and green
And violet and purple
And aquamarine

She picked through the bushes
And plucked from the trees
Taking as many
fruits as she pleased

“This one is pink!
I’ll drink it, I think.
And this one is blue
It’ll go fine in a stew.”

Each fruit was new
And different and fun
And she vowed to try every
Fruit under the sun

She put them in soups
In salads and teas
Some she cooked up
And some she did freeze

Grabby Versnatchen
Tried all the fruits that she could
She tried far more fruits
Than any one person should

The blue ones were good
But they made her arms grow too short
And long tufts of hair
Sprouted out of a wart

The reds were so rich
And tasty and sweet
She didn’t even notice
They put hair on her feet

The pinks made her happy
(That never did fail)
But who could have guessed
They’d give her a tail?

And when she had found
Every fruit she could find
Boredom crept in
And dulled her bright mind

Her friends had grown up
And moved far away
While Grabby grew old
And shabby and gray

You see, discovering new fruits
Consumed all of her days
Especially when prepared
In so many ways

With each fruit there came
An unexpected result
That caught up with her
As an adult:

Her lungs started wheezing
She had quite a cough
Her eyes had filmed over
And her fingers fell off

Her nose grew thick
And hairy and wide
And in bushy nostrils
Birds did reside

Her teeth they dropped out
One at a time
And I shudder to tell you
About her bright mind

Grabby went crazy
I guess was the case
But you would go too
If your mirror had THAT face!

One thing’s for sure,
She was a curious sort
With eyes that did glow
And a snout that did snort

Grabby Versnatchen
Ignored one simple truth:
Do what you want
But beware of strange fruits.