My 4 year old son and I sat down to brainstorm some more silly words (rhyming words or alliteration phrases or just plain silly sounds) and we (ok, mostly I) came up with this story. It’s fun to get him involved in the creative writing process so he can see how to get ideas flowing onto paper, then mash them all up and jumble them back together until they fall into place and you get a silly story. 🙂 That’s our official process at the moment.
The Zoo Train Parade
Once upon a time,
on a cool, cloudy morning,
a little boy climbed up a hill to see what he could see.
From the tip-top of the little hill,
far off beyond the cliff,
he saw a tiny train track with a traveling parade.
On the train track came a tractor travelling on a flat-bed boxcar
and behind the click-clacking Train with Tractor came a horse.
When he looked a little closer he could see
the clipping-clopping horse – a Clydesdale –
was climbing up the hill.
Quickly clambering up the hillside came the Clydesdale alongside
clicking-clacking Train with Tractor that was pulling a whole zoo!
As the zoo came into view,
the little boy could see some chickens
who were clucking quietly
at the country they traversed through.
The clicking-clacking travelling Train with Tractor
pulled some quiet clucking chickens
and continued through the countryside
alongside a clip-clopping Clydesdale horse.
He noticed next a bouncing boxcar
full of clowns trying to climb up
on the top of clicking-clacking Train with Tractor
as it rode along the train tracks
through the countryside alongside clambering Clyesdale
with the quiet clucking chickens in its tow.
Then the clumsy clowns began to clap
as monkeys (Colombus) and gnats
startled sedated lions and some sleepy bears.
The bears and lions poked and pried
at bars that kept us safe with them behind,
then snuggled back to sleep,
without a peep,
soothed by the rumbling of the clicking-clacking Train.
Close behind the animals
parading through the countryside
came a cleaner-upper, singing, sweeping Clown.
As he swept, he kept the countryside
crystal clean and sparkling green
so no trace of animals parading on a train
would mar the scene.
Suddenly, the little boy started shivering as he noticed
big, fat raindrops falling down before his eyes.
Then the cool day got colder
and the clouds began to shudder,
sending water by the boatloads sailing from the stormy skies.
The climbing clowns all clambered
back into their boxcars (dry and warm)
and the quiet clucking chickens
clamored for some safety too.
The pitter-patter of the raindrops
soothed sedated, sleepy lions,
but the bears were more aware
of the wet and wild zoo
as it paraded on the Train with Tractor
clicking-clacking through the countryside
with animals now safe inside the boxcars.
Then Train with Tractor puffed its way up to the top
and stopped.
By now a group of passersby had joined the little boy
who had climbed the hill
and stumbled on this most peculiar sight.
The raindrops pitter-pattered
while the horse kept clipping-clopping
but the train stopped clicking-clacking,
though the chickens kept on clucking,
and the cleaner-upper clown quit cleaning;
then the passersby all clapped loud
for the soaking, entertaining, clicking-clacking Train with Tractor
while the climbing clowns were waving
to the little boy who came to see
the animal parade.
If you want to see more of our silly stories / alliteration poems, you can read about the adventures of the Biker Man here.
