One Very Hot Day
One very hot day in a very hot summer,
some donkeys were carrying corn
in sacks on their backs
and they carried these packs
from the field to be stored in the barn.
The sun was so hot and the air was so dry
that the corn that the donkeys were hauling
was suddenly popping
and drifting and dropping
as if it were snow that were falling.
It seems that the donkeys were sure it was snow
that descended around them in drifts.
For, next thing you know,
it was twenty below,
and the donkeys were all frozen stiff.
In spite of the fact they were frozen to death,
they are now safely back in their barn
and feeling much better;
they’ve each got a sweater
that somebody knit from this yarn.
— Kenn Nesbitt
Copyright © 1999. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Level: Grade 5
Topics: Animal Poems, Tall Tale
Poetic Techniques: Hyperbole, Narrative Poems, Rhyme Schemes
Word Count: 136
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