Let the story be told of a lazy thief,
This evil hunter would bring my Mama grief,
Which would leave marks of distress marring her face,
Let me tell you how it happened, what took place...

That morning started out like every day,
Mama hid us well before she searched for prey,
"Stay here," she admonished, "And stay low to the ground,
Don't make a noise when predators come around,"
The evil hunter had been watching it all,
He had watched Mama hunt, and he was enthralled,
"I'd love to have that Cheetah hunting for me,
It's too hot...whew!...I'd like to take it easy!"
And while Mama was gone, the man called to us,
He watched all of us play and made SUCH a fuss!
"You're all so perfect...which of you should i choose?"
He couldn't decide...all three of us he'd use,
My brothers were picked up, put into a sack,
I hissed and I spit, the fur hight on my back,
Another sack came down over me--I was trapped!
Calling for our Mama, I was soundly slapped,
We traveled for many days and for many nights,
And all three of us were a-tremblin' with fright,
The hunter said, "Three Cheetahs will hunt for me,
I'll have food...I can sleep...and make some money!"
Put in a cage, the hunter looked at us, sneered,
"You don't hunt for me, you'll have reason to fear,"
Both starved and abused, we did as he wanted,
While he sat around and watched while WE hunted,
This went on for many days...we were exhausted,
The man grew meaner and we were accosted,
At night, before we'd finally go to sleep,
We'd quietly call for our Mama...and weep,
One day, while the hunter slept, a Bird had news!
He'd found her crying, searching, each day renew,
Mama had dark stains from her eyes to her mouth,
She'd been searching for us from North to the South,
The Bird told the Wise Man what was going on,
They confronted the man, they told him, "Begone!"
We were so glad to see our dear Mama's face,
Now with the tear stripes permanently in place,

We licked her, tried to remove the marks, they stayed,
For loving us so much, that's the price she paid,
As a tribute, Cheetahs cubs born bear this stain...
Honor that mother...ALL mothers...this refrain...
-----------------------------------------------------------
ALWAYS honor your mother. I
wish I had mine...my beloved
mother, josephine m. srdjak,
passed away at the young age
of 59, from complications
of diabetes...

...how i miss her still...

(((HUGS))) and love,

karla. :(

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all
mothers on the author's den
site...