Don’t Hug an Echidna

I kid ya not, Echidnas be
more strange than even you or me.
She digs a den and makes a nest
then lays an egg – like bird, not beast.

Now if you see her in the bush
don’t pick her up in loving rush.
As much as she might like a hug
to try it – well – you’d be a mug!

It’s not her teeth, her mouth’s too small.
Her snout is long, and so’s her tongue.
It’s not her claws, but DO take care.
They’re very big and like to dig.

It’s not the fur upon her belly
or beady eyes that look so merry.
It’s just her coat can never tickle.
It’s made of spikes that jab and prickle.

She’s very shy and curls up tight
whenever there’s a threat or fright.
And hidden in nest’s leafy muddle,
a hatching pudgy baby puggle.

by Celia Berrell

 Red gum; snow gum

mountain ash and ghost gum.

Smooth bark; rough bark

stringy bark and ironbark.

Eucalypts are Aussie trees

with properties to fight disease.

Their slender crescent lolling leaves

will sigh upon a lazy breeze.

But just one thing we must refute:

although a “gumnut” sounds quite cute,

these trees have seeds in hardened suits.

They DON’T have nuts.

These trees have FRUIT!

by Celia Berrell

Our neighbour has a little dog.

A cute white fluffy puppy.

It growls and howls both day and night.

Alone, it’s never happy.

A well-loved dog is like a friend

who keeps us company.

We’ll both play games and go for walks.

That’s how it’s meant to be.

I wish our neighbour’s puppy-dog

was well-cared-for like that.

No time to spend with doggy friend …

then maybe get a cat?

 The liquid metal mercury

has got a sordid history.

In Georgian times they put it in

their tonics as a medicine.

But since it’s toxic to nerve cells

it causes nasty dizzy spells

loss of sight and hearing ills.

Too much and then this poison kills!

Its common name is quicksilver.

A shining river, moving mirror

found in old thermometers

tooth-fillings and barometers.

But back in Eighteenth Century

the rich and poor thought mercury

would have a magic healing trick.

Instead it made them very sick!

Like microscopic armies

battling germy foes

a microbe war is raging

inside our snotty nose.

Staphylococcus aureus

can make us very ill.

Resistant to most medicines

it’s difficult to kill.

But scientists who study snot

have seen these bad germs die

when a different bacteria

is plentiful nearby.

They plan to use this winning germ

to make antibiotics.

Such science research might be called

exotic snot biotics!

When Nobody is Watching

There’s lots of things that you can do

when nobody is watching you.

Play with your food then wipe your hands

all down your front and on your pants.

Or pick your nose, or sniff with glee.

There’s no-one there to see you – see?

Scratch your penknife on the chair

and carve your own initials there.

Pull a thread-long from your clothes

then tie it round your tongue and nose.

Doodle where you shouldn’t scrawl

or stick your gum against the wall.

Bite your nails or suck your thumb …

but look-out for a Peeping Tom!