And Then

I stared at the end of the road,
Where it changed to a path in the trees.
I started walking, as I entered the woods,
I swear I heard somebody sneeze.
And Then...

I followed the sound and approached a small man,
Who was sitting on a stump n a glen.
We looked at each other. “Gesundheit,” I said.
He replied, “Thank you, my nice, polite friend.”
And Then...

The little old man told me he was an elf
And that he would grant me one wish.
I thought for awhile and then I replied,
“I want you to make me a fish!”
And Then...

The little man danced and clapped his hands
And he said, “Doogle donady, dimm!
Turn this young person into a fish,
And in the river allow him to swim!”
And Then...

I turned into a fish, and the little man laughed,
And he disappeared with a flash.
I flew through the air and over a river
Which I landed in with a flash.
And Then...

I swam for awhile, but then I got tired,
So I leapt out onto the land.
I sat on a rock, and looking around,
I saw a small lemonade stand.
And Then...

I flopped off the rock and bounced to the stand
And asked for something to drink.
The man mixed the liquid and poured me a cup,
And gave me a little wink.
And Then...

I took a big gulp and put down the cup,
And I knew that something was wrong.
The lemonade goy said, “Now you’ll be a person.
The change shouldn’t take very long.”
And Then...

I sprouted some arms, a couple of legs,
And my scales turned back into skin.
The lemonade guy said, “Ah, there you go.”
And he grinned his goofy grin.
And Then...

I ran through the woods and fell down a hole
And landed at the edge of the sea.
I saw a pirate ship, and every pirate
Was looking all evil at me.
And Then...

I got pulled on the ship, they tied up my hands.
The captain said, “Come her, Pirate Frank!
You’re going to find out how good it feels
To make something else walk the plank!”
And Then...

I stepped on he plank and I took a deep breath
And I gazed down into the blue.
About twenty sharks were looking as if to say,
“Hey, man, we’re gonna eat you!”
And Then...

Needless to say, I was pretty darn scared.
I knew I was going to die.
All of the pirates were shouting and yelling
And eating pieces of chocolate cream pie.
And Then...

I lost my balance and fell off the plank.
I screamed and I started to sweat.
After about five minutes of falling, I thought,
“Why am I not dead yet?”
And then...

I woke up.
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"And Then" is one of the oldest pieces of my work I still have. I wrote it in 2001, when I was in 11th grade... amazing to see how far I've come.