Bill Shontz   Animal Tales

PELICAN WILL
Pelican Will sat there flapping his wings
In the woods of the first winter storm
He dreamed he was flying far south of Palm Springs
Where the weather was balmy and warm
Blackbirds and Hummingbirds, Robins and Crows
Fine feathered friends of all kinds
Know they should fly when the frost bites their toes
But ol’ Will couldn’t make up his mind
CHORUS: Should I or shouldn’t I
Can I or can’t I try
Must every bird have a mission?
South might not be the best
I could fly East or West
Will couldn’t make a decision
He wavered and waited through
Ice and through snow...truly
Hazardous traveling conditions
I better stay right here
Maybe the sky will be clear
Then I can make my decision
The snow drifts came up to his neck yet he stayed
He couldn’t decide so he drifted and stayed
Finally, Pelican Will was buried in snow
From his bill to his web-footed toes
If you were Will wouldn’t you finally fly?
Well, Pelican Will couldn’t go
He was frozen in ice, on the end of the dock
The penguins danced by right on cue!
He’d become a fowl-weathered and fine-feathered block
Chilly Willy, the Pelican cube
CHORUS
Well, so goes the story of Pelican Will
It’s a moral that’s good to recall
“It’s better to fly off and make a mistake
Than to stay and do nothing at all!”

EVERYBODY’S GOT TO HAVE A HOME
Birdies nest up in the trees
Bees buzz round the hivey
Bunnies burrow ‘neath the leaves
Crickets live in ivy
Otter needs his water slide
Dolphin needs the ocean tide
Lion and his mighty pride
Need jungle space to roam
CHORUS: Everybody’s got to have a home
You know that everybody’s got to have a home
A cozy place that we can call our own
Everybody’s got to have a home
Ants and termites live in hills
Squirrels nest in hollows
Spiders play on window sills
Pigs in muddy wallows
In forest lands, the eagle shrieks
Beavers live in damned up creeks
A mouse in every building squeaks
“Honey, I am home”
CHORUS
Look around hey, everywhere
You’ll see some creatures livin’
It’s only fair that people share
This planet we’ve been given
If we can accept the plan
That all things live together
We’ll save a place and give some space
To those with fur and feather
H is for the Houses we people live and die in
O is for the Ocean reefs where fish go swimming by, and
M is for the Marshes where birds can nest without a care
E is for the Earth, the place for burrows and nests and
caves and grass and bushes and trees and rocks and logs
and holes and woods and mountains and lakes and streams and
flowers and weeds and grass and anything else–living things
might live inside...or on top of...or under...or beside...or in the
middle of...or adjacent to...
Everybody’s got to have a home
CHORUS

PACKAGE MAN
Georgie made the most delicious cookies
Georgie baked them in his special pan
All his friends who tried ‘em
Said that folks would buy ‘em
If they’re packaged nice and fancy
By the famous Package Man
So Georgie rode his bike down to the factory
Walked inside, his cookie in his hand
G: Hi, my name is Georgie, I want to sell this cookie.
PM: You were wise to come and see me, Georgie, I’m the
Package Man!
I am the Package Man, I am the Package Man
I can pack-ack-ack a package like no other packer can
I’ll make it boxidacious, packastrophic really swell
Cause a cookie’s just a cookie, it’s the package that’ll sell!
He turned to his assistant
Who was standing close behind. He said,
PM: Take this cookie, Snookie
We’ve a package to design!
Let’s see, where should we start? Hey, I’ve got it!
Wrap the cookie up in paper
Neon pink might work quite well.
S: Yeah, I think that hot pink paper
Would be absolutely swell.
PM: Cause a cookie’s just a cookie
It’s the package that’ll sell.
S: I never thought of it that way
PM: Heh, heh, of course you didn’t
Now, place the hot pink papered cookie
In a decorator box,
Big enough to catch their eye
From halfway down the block
S: Oh, a decorator box
That’ll really ring their bell
And of course the hot pink paper would be absolutely well
PM: Cause a cookie’s just a cookie
It’s the package that will sell
I can see it! I can see it! It’s a vision!
We’ll seal it all in shrink wrap
Double thick and hard to tear
To keep the boxes shiny
And protect them from the air
S: Yeah the shrink wrap is important
To preserve the taste and smell
A decorator box, that’ll really ring their bell
And of course the hot pink paper
Would be absolutely swell
Cause a cookie’s just a cookie
It’s the package that will sell
Gosh this is awfully fun
PM: Work with me, work with me!
Put the shrink wrap boxed up cookie
In a slick designer sack
To make it most attractive
We don’t want it comin’ back.
S: Great! Designer sacks are magic
With the yuppie clientele
And the shrink wrap is important
To preserve the taste and smell
And, a decorator box, that’ll really ring their bell
And of course the hot pink paper
Would be absolutely swell
PM: Make it big, bigger, biggest! It’s the package that will sell!
S: Genius Boss!
PM: Have you ever doubted it?
Now of course this brilliant package
Will be traveling out of state
So wrap it all in bubble pack
And stick it in a heavy crate
S: Oh boy, oh boy
The crate would sure protect it
On the truck in case it fell
Designer sacks are magic
With the yuppie clientele
And the shrink wrap is important
To preserve the taste and smell
And a decorator box, that’ll really ring their bell
And of course the hot pink paper would be absolutely swell
PM: Call the kid...it’s a “wrap”
It’s a package that will sell
Georgie rode his bike back to the factory
Saw the package
G: Gosh it’s awfully big. He opened up the crate
And the bubble pack as well
The sack by a designer, whose name he couldn’t spell
Then the shrink wrap, package
With its funny plastic smell
Then the decorator box, which didn’t ring his bell
Then he broke the paper wrapper
And gave a dreadful yell!
G: Hey, there’s nothing in this package
It’s just an empty shell!
PM: You forgot the cookie, Snookie
S: No I didn’t it was swell
Boss you told me I should snack it!
PM: I said pack it!
S: Oops, oh well!
Never mind about the cookie
It’s the package that will sell
PM: I am the Package Man
I am the Package Man
G: It was just a little cookie
But it’s gotten out of hand
Well keep your fancy packaging
Your lettering and wrappaging,
A little paper bag I can recycle will work grand!
PM: He’s wrong, Snookie, the kid is totally wrong
What do I always tell you?
S: You’ve gotta...shrink wrap ‘em bubble pack ‘em
Neatly stack ‘em and they’ve gotta be
Crush proofed and leak proofed, bug proofed
What’s more they’ve gotta be
Sterilized, homogenized, sanitized, and maximized
Plastic-ack-ack packigated, by the Package Man
PM: I am the Package Man,
I am the Package Man
I can pack-ack-ack a package like no other packer can
G: Yes, I made the most delicious cookie
No I do not need the Package Man!

WOODLAND CHORUS
Evening has come all over the forest
Animals know it’s time for a song
Everyone loves to join in the chorus
Singing out the melodies all night long
We sing in the Woodland chorus
Get happy they seem to say
Celebrating the night before us
Tuning up our voices ‘till night is day
Listen to the sound of the great big bull frog
Over in the oak sings the whipoorwill
I can hear the choir of crickets singing
Singing out the melodies all night long
Can you hear the hoot of a nearby night owl?
Hearken to hear the call of a distant loon
Listen for the song of the lonely coyote
Singing out their melodies all night long

GREEN UP!
Green Up! Green Up! Green Up! Green Up!
That’s what we have to do to save the world we live in
Green up! Let’s find a way to make pollution disappear
Green up! We can’t keep takin’ from the Earth and never givin’
Green up! Let’s start right now sing out so everyone can hear
BRIDGE: Let’s make a difference, join together hand in hand
Let’s do our part to save the Earth, let’s take a stand
Green up! Green up! Green Up! Green Up! Oh
CHORUS: Keep it green, keep it clean
Cherish the trees and living things, oh
Keep it green, keep it clean
The Earth is our only home
Green up! Green Up! Recycling talk is cheap, the time has
come for action
Green Up! Get solar, hydro, agro, be an eco friend
Green up! There’s so much trash, the Earth can’t get no satis-
faction
Green up! Green up the planet is the message that we send
BRIDGE/CHORUS

HOLE IN THE OZONE
Woke up, got up, put some cocoa in my cup
Same way I do everyday
And then just for fun I turned the radio on
To hear what the newsman had to say
After bad news, sad news, national and local news
I though tit couldn’t get any worse
But then the newsman told me
‘Bout the ozone hole, he said
“This could mean the end of Earth”
(So I said to myself, I said, “Self, you gotta get outa here!”)
CHORUS: There’s a hole in the ozone
Get me to the red phone
This is an emergency!
Dial nine-one-one I’ve got to tell someone
These ultra-violet rays
Are burning me
Call the firemen, the President
The Army, Navy, Airforce and Marines
‘Cause there’s a hole in the ozone
Get me to the red phone
This is an emergency!
Bags packed, roof racked, thought I wasn’t comin’ back
I’d find a cave and hide from the sun
But then I realized with a hole in the sky,
This size, there was nowhere to run!
Man, that burst my bubble, I was in deep trouble
If I could I’d catch a rocket to Mars
We can’t fly there yet, so with deep regret,
I unpacked and got back out of my car
(And I said to myself, I said, “Self, you gotta do something!”)
CHORUS
I wrote a letter to my senator, said it’s a disaster
I don’t know which way to turn
And I did not feel better, when I got a form letter
Addressed “To whom it may concern.”
It said, “Me and my buddies
Say the problem needs more study
Twenty years should do the trick
So air conditioning’s ok, use those aerosol sprays
Fill out this questionnaire if you get sick”
(So I said to myself, I said, “Self, you gotta write a song and
tell everybody!”)
CHORUS: Cause there’s a hole in the ozone
That’s growin’ and grown’
Hey, this is a catastrophe!

GUS THE PLATYPUS
He’s part mammal and he’s part bird
That’s Gus...that’s Gus
A down-under animal with dark brown fur
That’s Gus, unh-huh, that’s Gus
Listen and I’ll tell you as the mystery grows
He’s got a bill instead of a nose
He’s got webs in between his toes
You may think we’re making it up, I suppose
Uh-uh, not us, mm-mm, it’s just, that’s
G-u-u-us the platypus (2x)
Mr. Gu-u-u-us the platypus (2x)
He’s no rhinoceros, ain’t no hippopotamus
Ain’t no di-diplodycus, he’s just Gus the platypus
He’s got a beaver tail and four short legs
That’s Gus...that’s Gus
He tunnels out a nest where Mrs. Gus lays eggs
That’s Gus (Yep) that’s Gus (Yep)
He swims like an otter and feeds like a duck
He plows his bill in the river’s muck
He catch some crawdads and swims back up
And shares what he caught with his wife and his pups
No muss, uh-uh, no fuss, mm-mm, that’s Gu-u-u-us the
platypus
He’s totally Australian; he’s not Episcopalian
Mr. Gu-u-u-us the platypus
He’s a little smaller than his neighbor the Koala
He’s no rhinoceros, ain’t no hippopotamus
Ain’t no di-diplodycus, he’s just Gus the platypus
Gu-u-u-us the Platypus
A swimmer and a diver, he’ll never need a driver
Mr. Gu-u-u-us the Platypus
He’s a living fossil; his family tree’s colossal
Gu-u-u-us the Platypus
How ‘bout those Crustaceans he shares with his relations
Gu-u-u-us the Platypus
At parties he don’t stay late, he only says “G’day mate”
Gu-u-u-us the Platypus
He’s my little buddy and we’re both a little nutty!

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
CHORUS: You are what you eat
You are what you eat
The food you choose to chew and swallow
You become, I repeat
You are what you eat
Last night I had a crazy dream
I was in a sandwich shop
A skinny man with yellow legs
Clucked through the door and hopped
Upon the stool beside me
His feathers brushed my seat
He pecked his chicken soup and cackled
You are what you eat
That’s why squirrels act so nutty
That’s why monkeys go bananas
S’why my puppy’s always sleeping
Cause he chewed up my pajamas
And at pond side frogs are bug-eyed
Katydids are green as grass
Mary Jane at so much lettuce
She’s the head of her whole class
Her brother ate so much corn the army made him a KERNEL
CHORUS
My aunt ate too many vitamins, now
She’s hard to swallow!
You are what you eat
And my uncle drank so much soda – he POPPED!
You better mind the way you dine
Cause you are what you eat
Now in my dream I ran back home
I thought I was awake
I tried to warn my family
But I arrived too late
My dad was eating pasta
“Don’t swallow that,” I said!
To my surprise before my eyes
He grew a noodle head!
Sis had made a sandwich, “Yummy
I cried, “Sis, don’t eat that bread!”
She was looking pretty crumby
“Nothing different here,” I said
My brother ate a brussel sprout
My mom ate steak, “Oh wow!”
Brother vegetated, while
My mother had a cow! MOO!
CHORUS
My best friend at nachos all day long. He’s got a chip on
his shoulder.
You are what you eat
My girlfriend ate a crate of oranges, now she’s my
main squeeze!
The food you choose to chew and swallow
You become, I repeat
You are what you eat!
My next door neighbor ate his cookies too fast and turned in
to an Oreo Speedwagon!
You are what you eat
I like to eat mushrooms and tell jokes. I’m a real fungi.
Mind the P’s and Q’s of diet
Before you bake or boil or fry it,
Think things through before you try it
Cause you are what you eat!

OH YES, HE DID IT
The Tortoise and the Hare
A most unlikely pair
Decided they would run a race
Rabbit said “I know
That Turtle, you’re too slow
You’re bound to finish second place.”
The Tortoise wasn’t scared
“OK, I’ll race ya’ hare”
He slowly found the starting line
Rabbit took off like a shot
So did the Turtle – NOT!
He crawled off singing “Clementine”
Oh yes, he did it, he showed that he could do his best (2X)
The Hare said “time for lunch”
He found a carrot bunch
And stopped to much and eat his fill
“I’m way ahead...perhaps
I’ll take a nap.”
He fell asleep upon the hill
Now as the Rabbit slept
Past him Tortoise crept
Rabbit woke up far behind
He caught up in a flash
But in the final dash
Tortoise beat him ‘cross the finish line
Oh yes, he did it
He showed that he could do his best (2X)
Now all you have to do is try your hardest
It doesn’t matter if you’re slow or fast
If at first you don’t succeed just keep on tryin’
The one who quits will be the one who ends up last
Oh yes he did it
He showed that he could do his best (3X)

ASHES IN THE RAIN
I sat beside a waterfall, far from the path I’d strayed
The parrots in the trees, the tree frogs in the glade
Played a jungle symphony beneath the forest canopy’s deep
shade.
Lost in time, I drifted to the patterns of the rain.
A vision of an old and wizened Indian filled my eyes
He said, “The fish will flee, the jungle birds will fly
These mighty trees will tumble, roads will scar the earth - and
smoke will fill the sky.”
Then like the smoke he rose and vanished in the falling rain.
Out in the falling rain.
How can it be these giant trees will feel the winds of change?
Since time began this magic land had surely stayed the same.
I believed it would remain eternal, and when I returned
The orchid still would bloom and rain renew the forest fern.
I went back to walk that path, but everything had changed.
What happened to the trees? The jungle parrots call.
What happened to the orchid that was blooming there beside
the waterfall?
Now there’s nothing left, but ashes in the rain. Ashes in the
rain.
Gone these woods primeval, man’s own greed must bear the
blame.
All that’s left of this cathedral is ashes in the rain.
Ashes in the rain. Ashes in the rain. Ashes in the rain.

ONE EARTH
CHORUS: There’s only one Earth and we share it
With the whole world great and small
Plants and creatures, land and sea and air
There’s only one Earth for us all
There’s only one Earth for us all
One Earth

Mother Earth is our home, she takes care of all life
in a balance eternal and true
Armed with nothing but time, she is patient and wise
She tears down what is bad and builds up something new
CHORUS
We have all that we need, we need all that we have
Mother Earth is a family affair
Everything is a part of her natural plan
This planet’s the house and home that we share
CHORUS