Forgive me for being so bold
But this story is for kids young and old                                                               I remember it well so very fine                                                                      Even though at the time I was only nine

It began on one of those stormy nights                                                           Soon after my daddy turned out the lights                                                   And here is what happened next
As you will learn in the following text

There was a mouse in the house
That frightened daddy's spouse
Oh what a louse
That mouse in the house
That frightened daddy's spouse

 The spouse was my wonderful mother of course
Whose fear of mice made her voice grow horse

My daddy knew he had to get rid of that intruder
Because no animal could have been any ruder
He set a tiny trap only to scare that mouse
So the sound would drive it straight out of the house

The tiny trap he made was a great help
Because that very night I heard the mouse yelp
Daddy ran down the stairs to the ground floor
Where he saw the mouse racing straight out the door

He then ran upstairs like a hero and told his spouse
That for you I got rid of that louse of the mouse

We thought this would end mom's mouse sensation
But no, not yet, she needed to go on a long vacation
Mom was firm that she had to get away for a while
And daddy could not resist her beautiful smile

So across the ocean we traveled on a great big jet
And what a long trip when all you can do is sit
　
Our first stop was to the country of France
And this was by choice and not by chance
The first day we went up the famous Eiffel Tower
Where we viewed beautiful Paris for over one hour　　

In Paris we saw great paintings and statues that never move
They are in the historic museum that's named the "Louvre"
And then it was time to see the great Paris by night
They call this the city of light and it is a marvelous sight

The next day my daddy said it was time to depart
But mom said that Paris would always stay in her heart

We then traveled to Spain without any strain to visit Madrid
We had such fun that mom wrote a diary of all that we did
And the people in Spain were all so nice
That my mom actually forgot about mice

Imagine that: Spain was so nice that mom forgot the mice

We then took a train to a country with a dessert so grand
It was a magnificent sight with hot sun spread over the land
The name of this most interesting country is Morocco　
And we were surprised for lunch the menu listed a Taco

Imagine that:　 Eating a Taco in Morocco

Next day we took a bus without any fuss to Casablanca
An exotic town of great renown where daddy drank Sanka

Imagine that: Drinking Sanka in Casablanca

It was then off to Italy and the eternal city of Rome
With sights so pretty that daddy wrote a poem

In Rome daddy asked me if I could answer this teaser
And tell him  who was Rome's most famous Caesar
I answered of course and without any remorse
That Julius is the name and is recorded with great fame

Daddy then told me about a Roman Caesar named Nero
This Caesar set fire to Rome and was certainly no hero
He then said here was a Caesar who had a great mind
Marcus Aurelius was his name and he was one of a kind

Imagine that:　 A Caesar named Nero who was never a hero
And one named Marcus with a great mind that was one of a kind

It was then off to Greece where we encountered our first storm
And in the rain daddy said this is where democracy was born
On a hill in the city of Athens is a great building called the Parthanon　
That is one of the world's ancient wonders that glows in the dawn

While in Athens we visited a museum with a long hall
Where a huge drawing of men hung on the wall
Daddy said they are great philosophers
And a famous group of ancient Greek scholars

The names he citied I didn’t know at the time
But they made be laugh because they all rhymed

Daddy pointed and said there is Aristotle
Looks like he drinking from a large bottle
And over there stands the philosopher Plato
It looks like Plato is eating a big potato

To the left stand the great Socrates
Seems to be arguing with Euripides
And down below Sophocles is writing a text
This must be his famous play Oedipus Rex

My mom told daddy to stop with the jokes
And respect these men who were brilliant blokes

Not so far away the country of Turkey was our next destination
Where we the viewed many exciting places with great fascination

The capital city that’s so full of domes is called Istanbul
This is a city that is both old and new and really a jewel
Here daddy drank a special coffee that is strong and dark
It's so strong if you drink too much you might sing like a Lark

Imagine that: drinking coffee like a nerd and singing like a bird　

By now we have traveled far and wide
And having so much fun side by side
But daddy said it was time to end this roam
And he made plans to travel back home

But mom had other plans for daddy and me
Before home there was more she wanted to see
So once again we flew in a plane across the sea
And landed in Mexico where the word for Yes is Si

We spent a few days in the capital of Mexico City
Where my daddy said the girls were so very pretty

We went to a restraint were the menu was only in Spanish
So daddy just pointed to a selection that he thought we would relish
During the meal the waiter kept asking if we wanted more
Not speaking Spanish my dad just kept saying "Si Senor"
And before long all our stomachs were starting to roar

Imagine that:　 In Mexico city were the girls are pretty
Just tell the waiter "Si Senor" until you cannot eat anymore

Next on the stop was a Mexican resort of great renown
And we traveled in an old crowed bus to reach this town
It is located in beautiful tropics and the name is Acapulco
We had a great time and when leaving had a cup of cocoa

Imagine that:　 Drinking cocoa in Acapulco

Next to the land of Baja California where we traveled by boat
Although named California it belongs to Mexico so please note
This is a land where tourists come to play or fish or bath in the sun
And like the other tourists we tried it all and had such great fun

The next day we traveled in a fast car named a jeep
And crossed dessert land and on roads that were steep
We stopped at an interesting town named Ensenada
Where for our lunch we all ordered an Enchilada

Imagine that: Eating an Enchilada in Ensenada

Next day by car we crossed the border of the good old USA
And the weather was just perfect on this first day of May
So we decided to visit San Diego where they have a great zoo
That's so full of great species it's an animal Who's Who　

Before arriving home the next day we visited San Francisco
Where we rode cable cars and mom and daddy danced in a disco

Imagine that: dancing in a disco in San Francisco

A day later we were back home at last
But this tale is not over so don’t leave so fast
The first thing for daddy was to make the great test
No mice must be found in the house so mom can rest

Hallways and room after room daddy inspected with care
Knowing if a mouse was there it would cause a great scare
But there was no louse of mouse in our house
And this means they could not frighten daddy's spouse

So kids remember the moral of this long tale
When you grow up you can be a hero and never fail
By making sure your house is always free of those mice
Because outside they are OK, but inside mice are not nice