Today, my teacher announced “It’s time for Show and Tell!”
My hand shot up to volunteer quickly—I nearly fell.
I began my story, loud and clear.
I had to make sure EVERYONE could hear.
“Yesterday, my family and I went to the zoo.
At the zoo, there is so much to do!
The first animals we saw were the polar bears.
There were a thousand of them, with lots of snowy hair.
Next we watched some slippery seals
Flipping ten times head-over-heels.
At lunchtime, we were so hungry that we ate two tons each,
Just like the elephants we saw resting on their beach.
But then, I touched a sea urchin bed
That ALMOST swallowed my entire head.
Our last stop was to see the birds
That tried to attack us like buffalo herds.
What a day we had—it was great!”
Then, my teacher said, “Let me get this straight.
How much of your story is actually true?”
“Well…” I confessed, “I did go to the zoo.”
She replied “and what about all of those stories that had us so fascinated?”
I gulped. “Um, I may have exaggerated.
You know, I really did see polar bears, elephants, and seals at the zoo.
Oh, and I touched the sea urchins and watched the birds, too.
I thought it would be cool to add thousands of bears and flipping seals,
And I figured I would impress you with elephant-sized meals,
And those sea urchins were actually pretty small,
And the few birds that were there didn't attack us at all.
It seems my trip to the zoo wasn’t all that odd.”
My teacher smiled. “Next time, let’s tell stories without a façade.”