Henry Little who was, in fact, rather large in size, would like to make himself very much smaller so as to emulate his name. He tries all sorts of ways to do this, but fails rather badly. Finally, he is offered a position in a museum as an exhibit, and is renamed – HENRY THE GREAT.
HENRY LITTLE by Michele Lourie
Large Henry Little
Decided to whittle
Himself down, to the point of his name.
(The ‘Little’ part – not the ‘Henry’ part)
He first tried sandpaper
But learnt, as a shaper,
It was useless – he remained much the same.
(Except for the scrapes all over his torso, making washing and dressing rather uncomfortable)
He then bought a sharpener
From a one-legged carpenter
Who had built it to lose weight, but that failed.
(Although the unfortunate loss of a leg did make him somewhat lighter, but certainly not happier)
Next, Hal used a shaver
Which made his plight graver,
At the sight of all the bits he’d sheared, he quailed.
(The doctor didn’t look so well, either, and thereafter vowed he would refuse to attend emergency situations of this type)
Henry, wrapped like a Mummy
From his head to his tummy
Gave up his quest, resigned now to his fate.
(It was then, out of nowhere, Henry received an offer from the renowned Museum of Oddities to take up residence there, as long as he remained the same weight)
He agreed with alacrity, and is now known as
HENRY THE GREAT.
