Pennsylvania Woods

I thought we lived at the front of a forest,
And she and I were the kings.
We used to put on paper crowns
And make forts from the branches and leaves.

And believe it or not, the animals came,
And played with us everyday,
And she told me that if I was kind to them
They would never run away.

I soon knew the whistle of every bird
And the clever wit of a fox,
I learned how to run as fast as a hare
And jump with the frogs over rocks.

When I once beat a squirrel to the top of a tree,
It laughed and asked, "What are you?"
And I grinned at my sister, who taught me well,
And said, "We are just animals too."