Like Alice there came a time I fell down a hole,
I hit with a thump and looked up to behold,
a creature with no eyes that looked like a toad.
He said “I can’t see but I can certainly hear,
and it looks like you’ve finally hit rock bottom my dear.”
I stood and brushed off, looked up and could see,
that climbing back up here was not an option for me.
I wandered a tunnel and to a crossroads I came,
then I turned to the left and did more of the same.
I hit a dead end and in the corner I saw,
a big white cocoon about twelve inches tall.
From inside emerged a giant gray moth,
it spread out its wings and began to dry off.
I spoke softly to it, but I don’t think it could hear,
then all of the sudden it began singing so clear.
It sang like a bird about many a thing,
the chorus I heard was most enlightening,
“Don’t drown in the dark, seek the light whence you came,
keep trying until you’re above ground again.”
I turned back around and trundled until,
back to the crossroads I came and stopped to gather my will.
In another tunnel ahead I saw a weak light far down,
so I heeded the moth and went to seek out the dawn.
From a hole high above I saw hanging down,
a brilliant white rope I could use to climb out,
but to my great surprise when I grabbed it I heard,
“Don’t yank on my tail, are you mad as a bird?”
The tail disappeared and I looked up to see,
a brilliant cats’ eye peeking back down at me.
The cat extended a paw to help pull me up,
but unfortunately I would only get stuck.
With a wink of an eye the cat said “Don’t you despair,
I’ll be waiting for you, so just keep on trying to get out of there.”
So I kept going along until all around me,
there was nothing but dark and I could no longer see.
I crawled on ahead feeling my way along,
then I felt a strange object and stopped to grab on.
It was shaped like a watch or a bracelet I thought,
and I pondered why someone would leave it behind,
but when I set it back down I discovered something,
that it lie in a pile with many other items.
“Leave my things where they lie,” called a voice in the dark,
and two beady red eyes lit up right of my mark.
“I’m sorry”, I said, “I didn’t mean to distress,
I’m just trying to find a way out of this mess.”
“I can’t help you,” the voice confided softly to me,
“I haven’t seen light in two decades you see.
All I have are these keepsakes from days gone before.
now please leave me be I can say nothing more.”
I was tired by then but couldn’t stop for fear of,
a fate like that of my last companion.
I kept crawling ahead on my hands and my knees,
then from off to the right I heard the sound of crying.
I moved toward the sound and I discovered what seemed,
like a small *****ly ball, all cold and trembling.
When I hugged the small ball it grew quiet and content,
and I soon found myself with a new but strange friend.
Exhaustion took hold and we both fell asleep.
At least with each other we had company to keep.
After some time had passed I awoke to the feel,
of a soft prodding foot, poking at my right heel.
“Get up,” said a voice, “I can help you on your way,
the same way that you helped me out here today.
Now follow the sound of my footsteps and I,
will lead the way out and up into the sky.”
After a long and hard journey I emerged above ground,
and I could see that my friend was a pokey hedgehog.
Then quick as a flash he turned and was gone,
and I started to fear that I was all alone.
But when I looked round again I was delighted to see,
up ahead on a path a cat waiting for me.