I went to the zoo,
To look for a job.
They put me in charge of the Thingamabob.

“It lives in a hole,
Underground, in a den,
And it hasn’t eaten since no one knows when.”

They warned me, “It likes
Boiled turnips and eggs,
And squishy pink bugs with hairy black legs.”

“It’s fur is sky blue,
It’s eyes glow bright red,
And no one’s quite sure if it’s living or dead!”

I raked the whole cage.
I pruned the elm tree.
I picked up the bottles, the trash, and debris.

I cleaned the dry pond.
Repaired its worn pump.
Then hosed down the dirt. Removed the dead stump.

I sat on a rock,
To rest and eat lunch,
When all of a sudden I heard a big—“CRUNCH!”

A pair of red eyes
Glowed fiercely at me.
I jumped up and hid behind the elm tree.

It chomped through the box.
It scattered the food.
It licked off its green lips, and drooled as it chewed.

It belched, then it dug
A hole in the ground,
And all that I heard from inside was a sound.

A growling, a moan,
A strange rumbling purr.
It coughed up a ball of its matted blue fur.

A sign we were friends?
I thought it could be,
Until it emerged licking green lips at me.

A warning to those,
Who seek out zoo jobs,
Bring plenty of lunch for the Thingamabobs.