Sat idly three girls,
Stout, old and wise.
When a garden gnome appeared
Before their very eyes.

'Three wishes, I give you,'
The gnome said to the three.
The stout girl stood up
And said greedily,

'I'd like to be thin,
I'm much, much too fat.'
The gnome winked his eye.
'Are you sure of that?'

The girl said she was sure,
So the gnome said alright.
He ordered the stout girl
To close her eyes tight.

But when they were open
In fright and dismay,
She found she was thinner
Than a single strand of hay.

'Oh dear!' she cried out.
'Now look what you've done!
I'll bet my pounds barely
Still exceed one!'

And when you're as thin
As that young lady was,
You turn into nothing
But dust and fuzz.

But the next one was eager.
She was old and tired.
'Please make me young,
Soon my life will expire.'

She closed her eyes tight
Without being told.
But when they had opened,
She was no longer old'

'Dear me!' she cried out.
'I'm no older than three!
I can't enjoy life like
It used to be!'

Yes, she'd forgotten
All old-age strife.
But she soon got so young,
She went backward in life.

And the only one left
Of the original three
Was the wise one.
She smiled sneakily.

'What is your wish?'
The gnome asked she.
'Nothing,' she said,
'I want nothing for me.'

Wishes are silly,
The wise one knew.
You have to work hard
So something good happens to you.

So keep working hard
And you'll have what you need.
But also watch out
For the gnome's Wishes Three.