An Owl, A Pussycat and a Balloon
Listen to Val ...
An Owl and a Pussycat looked up at the sky.
Flying looks fun, shall we give it a try?
We could go a lot further and see a lot more
In a flying balloon, on a round the world tour.
They repurposed their vessel from boat to balloon.
Unleashed the tethers and left at high noon.
This is the life cried the owl to the cat.
What wonderful fun, hang on to your hat!
Across the Sahara they drifted along
And spotted a camel train, winding and long.
A couple of camels clambered aboard.
Then up from the desert the boat balloon soared.
In an Indian forest a tiger called Dora,
Jumped in the vessel and caused a furore.
I promise said Dora, I will not claw or bite
Anyone here, on this wonderful flight.
In China they stopped at a place called Gansu
And picked up a Panda, chewing bamboo.
They flew over mountains, land, sea and ocean
To Java, where monkeys made quite a commotion.
We can fit you all in with a bit of a squeeze.
No climbing, no swinging, less chattering, please.
In the Galapagos, west of Peru,
They met a large tortoise, ‘how do you do.’
Welcome aboard on our round the world flight.
A speedy adventure, you’ll need to hold tight.
By an African river they stopped for a while
And attracted a smile from a large crocodile.
A big herd of elephants tried to jump in,
And the monkeys were making a terrible din.
A rhino and hippo went charging about.
The balloon tipped up and the camels fell out.
The Pussycat cried, it’s all going wrong.
We should return to the land of the Bong.
They all pushed and pulled to right the balloon
And at last, it was up, by the light of the moon.
Home, said the Owl, our journey is done
We’ve been round the world and we’ve had so much fun,
We’ve made many friends and seen where you live.
We have stories to write and lectures to give.
Upwards they rose and the animals cried
This is the life, what a wonderful ride.
Thank you so much for our super vacation.
Please can you drop us at Paddington Station!
Flying looks fun, shall we give it a try?
We could go a lot further and see a lot more
In a flying balloon, on a round the world tour.
They repurposed their vessel from boat to balloon.
Unleashed the tethers and left at high noon.
This is the life cried the owl to the cat.
What wonderful fun, hang on to your hat!
Across the Sahara they drifted along
And spotted a camel train, winding and long.
A couple of camels clambered aboard.
Then up from the desert the boat balloon soared.
In an Indian forest a tiger called Dora,
Jumped in the vessel and caused a furore.
I promise said Dora, I will not claw or bite
Anyone here, on this wonderful flight.
In China they stopped at a place called Gansu
And picked up a Panda, chewing bamboo.
They flew over mountains, land, sea and ocean
To Java, where monkeys made quite a commotion.
We can fit you all in with a bit of a squeeze.
No climbing, no swinging, less chattering, please.
In the Galapagos, west of Peru,
They met a large tortoise, ‘how do you do.’
Welcome aboard on our round the world flight.
A speedy adventure, you’ll need to hold tight.
By an African river they stopped for a while
And attracted a smile from a large crocodile.
A big herd of elephants tried to jump in,
And the monkeys were making a terrible din.
A rhino and hippo went charging about.
The balloon tipped up and the camels fell out.
The Pussycat cried, it’s all going wrong.
We should return to the land of the Bong.
They all pushed and pulled to right the balloon
And at last, it was up, by the light of the moon.
Home, said the Owl, our journey is done
We’ve been round the world and we’ve had so much fun,
We’ve made many friends and seen where you live.
We have stories to write and lectures to give.
Upwards they rose and the animals cried
This is the life, what a wonderful ride.
Thank you so much for our super vacation.
Please can you drop us at Paddington Station!
This poem is copyright (©) Val Harris 2024
About the Writer
Val Harris
Val lives near Farnham with a horse and husband and several grandchildren living nearby, who like to mark her poems out of ten. She used to write for adults, but decided she much preferred writing poetry for children, after her debut poem was published online with The Dirigible Balloon in 2021. Since then, several others have appeared on various balloon flights, and she has had poems published in The Caterpillar Magazine, Paperbound Magazine, The Toy Press and Little Thoughts Press. You can find her as Val Poet on Instagram and @dragontripper Val Poet on Twitter.
