Mother said,

"Straight ahead,"

Not to delay

Or be misled.

I should have heeded her advice...

But he seemed so nice.



And he showed me things,

Many beautiful things,

That I hadn't thought to explore.

They were off my path,

So I never had dared.

I had been so careful,

I never had cared.

And he made me feel excited-

Well, excited and scared.



When he said, "Come in!"

With that sickening grin,

How could I know what was in store?

Once his teeth were bared,

Though, I really got scared-

Well, excited and scared-

But he drew me close

And he swallowed me down,

Down a dark slimy path

Where lie secrets that I never want to know,

And when everything familiar

Seemed to disappear forever,

At the end of the path

Was Granny once again.



So we wait in the dark

Until someone sets us free,

And we're brought into the light,

And we're back at the start.



And I know things now,

Many valuable things,

That I hadn't known before:

Do not put your faith

In a cape and a hood,

They will not protect you

The way that they should.

And take extra care with strangers,

Even flowers have their dangers.

And though scary is exciting,

Nice is different than good.



Now I know:

Don't be scared.

Granny is right,

Just be prepared.



Isn't it nice to know a lot!

And a little bit not