ANIMALS UNITED

The signs were placed on everytree,
in a language only animals could see.

NOTICE
Most of you can read animalish.
Even birds,reptiles and all manner of fish.

Since most of you are mostly,
listen to the following closely.
We all want to live to a ripe old age,
not to die or be put in a cage/

So,
We've got to plan to unite as one,
to stop all hunters from having fun.

Put on your thinking caps and
think with your mind.
Then make a selection,
two of a kind.
The ones you choose
should know your views
and those should gather
in ones and twos.

So, prepare to meet in
Animalville
Five weeks from now and
that's for real.

Signed,
Yours animal truly,
the animal committee
fighting for freedom
for every one in the
animal kingdom.

They gathered in ones, twos and threes,
to read the signs in
Animalese.

The day before the appointed day,
in the middle of the month of May,
they started to come in every way.
In every which way,
through the night and day,
they began to assemble
to have their say.

They came by boat,
they came by raft,
and as they came,
they joked and laughed.
They came from near
and came from far,
they came by scooter
and they came by car.
They came by plane,
they came by train.
Some were wild,
others were tame.

Some hitch-hiked,
some walked slowly.
Some came from the highest,
some came from the lowly.
Some had on clothes.
Some chose not to.
In the animal world,
they don't really got to.

The low and the high, the slim and the fat, all of them going to have a chat.

When they were all there,
the leader rose and spoke,
"I'm just a little frog
and can only croak,
so everybody move closer to me,
after all, we are family,
that is plain to see
Now who will be the the first to speak,
just take your time ,
we've got all
week".

The birds of Paradise
from distant Ausralia,
stepped forward proudly,
in all their regalia.

"Frog chair amphibian
and assorted creatures,
you must know our feathers
are our main features.
Over all these years,
we've been hunted and slain,
our feathers are plucked,
for people too vain.
The feathers we wear,
are strictly our own,
and were never intended,
to go out on loan".

The fur-bearing animals rose to their feet.
"Our fur is our coat, on us it looks
neat.
The humans who wear us cannot compete.
We's rather be alive,
instead of dead and bare,
it's a case of murder.
Why don't they care?"

The elephants raised their trunks
and trumpeted mildly.
"When our tusks are stolen,
we become quite wildly.
We know our ivory
is very valuable,
but killing us is not
very allowable."

The cute baby seals slithered up
to be heard.
"While we're still living,
we're being de-furred.
Our parents look on,
helpless and crying,
while we poor pups
are slowly dying."

The gorillas stood up and beat their
chests;
"If we had our way, we'd make some
arrests.
We"d put lots of humans
in our people's zoos,
and feed them bananas
or whatever we choose.
Those who were left,
would be made to perform
tricks in a circus in
animal uniforms."

The assorted birds
began cheep cheeping;
"Those cute little cages
are not for our keeping.
We were given wings
in order to fly,
but in those boxes
our wings will die.
We must be free,
free as birds,
and not fall prey
to human nerds."

"Well said, well said,"
roared the King of the lions.
"Our gathereing here,
is a sign of the times.
Action is needed,
in these times of stress.
To ensure our safety,
we have got to protest."

Action , action, action,"
chanted the assembly,
until the very earth
was all a'trembly.

"I've got an idea,"
hissed the rattlesnake,
as he did a convulsive shake.
"We'll print up posters,
voicing our position,
it could very well be,
a sort of petition.

"Yak, Yak,"
yaked the Yak.
"We'll carry our posters,
from coast to coasters."

They worked steadily thru the night,
and made dandy signs that were a deliight.
The signs were clever, animals
are not dumb,
and the posters were read, in a
kind of a hum.

Clean up the zoos
and the pet stores.
You can get to see us
in the great outdoors.

If humans must make war,
against their own kind,
please don't include us,
just pay us no mind.

Hunters throw away your guns.
Use a camera instead.
We'd rather be on film,
than forever dead.

Sealers use their clubs
to kill baby seals.
Is that a human way,
to earn their meals?

No more tortures on your lab
tables.
The need to test us are mostly
fables.

I'm a cute Koala, that's plain to
see.
Don't shoot me down from my favorite
tree.

Stop the trapping
it's much too painful.
We animals think
it's downright sinful.

Fur looks better on us
then it does on you.
Don't take our fur away
and our lives too.

Snakes like their skin to remain on their backs.
Don't make them into belts or purses,
stick to the facts.

Fish have feelings,
just like all of you.
Don't put us in fish tanks,
unless you go too.

When they were through reading,
they lined up in twos
and the frog leader said,
"Let's show them our views.
We'll go through the cities,
we'll go through the towns.
We'll tell the world,
we're out of bounds."

They marched like an army,
they were all of one mind.
To change the humans,
and make them more kind.

In the procession,
marched all kinds of creatures,
showing the humans,
their different features.

The Birds of Paradise.
with plumage so regal,
and dogs and cats,
and a bald-headed eagle.
Echidnas and porcupines,
showing their spines,
and lynx and leopards,
and tigers and lions.

There were snakes that slithered,
and some that were sliding.
While still others on horseback,
were seen to be riding.
And Bluebok and Reindeer,
and Moose and Caribou,
showing off their antlers,
as were Lou, the big Gnu.
The storks and the emu birds,
with heads held high,
on necks so long,
they could say, "Bye, bye."

And a host of others,
too many to mention,
but all of them getting,
plenty of attention.

They went through parks.
They marched on roads,
all jabbering away,
in strange animal codes.

They entered villages,
went up and down mountains.
When they were thirsty,
they stopped at fountains.

And all the while the people were smiling,
It was partly laughing and partly
crying.
They began to see how cruel they had been,
how thoughtless, uncaring and downright
mean.

Yes, they made promises,
they thought they would keep,
not to torture animals,
or to make them weep.
To let animals live peacefully,
in their natural homes.