The Guess

By Billy E. Pennal

Drawings By Mary Pennal

© 1995 by Billy E. Pennal

Each day my daughter comes to me.
It happens quite a lot.
She says with eager happy look
"Oh, daddy, just guess what!"

She doesn't mean for me to guess.
There is a story grand
That she must tell me right away
But I hold up my hand.

I know she wants to tell the tale.
She's dancing up and down,
But I begin to guess and guess
With a pretended frown.

"You saw a great big maple tree
Beside a little lake
And fuzzy caterpillars there
Were having tea and cake."

"No, no, that isn't it at all"
She giggles with delight
"I'm sure you'll never guess this thing
If you should guess all night."

"Well then, did you see a kite
With a polka-dotted tail
Being eaten without jam
By a very hungry whale?

"Or was it some green peppermints
That entertained you so
By dancing on your parasol?
I really want to know.

"Or did you pull a tiger's tail
To see if he would roar?
Or find a hippopotamus
Behind the kitchen door?"

"No, no, it's not those kinds of things.
It's not at all like that.
You needn't guess, I'll tell you now."
But I give her a pat.

"This cannot be, how can you have
A story grander still
Than all the things I've guessed so far?
This is a bitter pill.

"I feel that I must really guess.
Please give me some more time
For me to guess and guess again.
To stop would be a crime."

"Oh very well," she says at last.
"Just guess a few times more."
She folds her arms and scowls at me
And stamps upon the floor.

"You saw a turkey turn a flip
While riding on a train
Cause all his Indian war paint
Was washed off by the rain.

"Or did you see a dinosaur
All painted blue and white
With yellow ruff around his neck
And it wasn't even night.

"Or did a watermelon
Start rolling up a hill?
Or did you rope an artichoke
While it was standing still?

"Could it be you saw a cabbage
With a very nice red coat,
And noticed it was riding
On a frightened billy goat?

"Or possibly the weather
Was acting up a bit
And flooded all the sidewalks
Without the right permit."

"Oh goodness, Daddy, that's enough."
She says without a blink.
I can tell that she's impatient now
So I begin to think.

"I have it now!" I fairly shout
"those guesses were too tame.
I should have known this super thing
Was much more than a game."

And so I take my deepest breath
And throw my head back some
As I prepare the grandest guess
That's guessed for years to come.

"While you were running down the street,
Being chased by hungry owls
With flapping wings and screeches loud
And fearsome roars and growls,

"You came upon a bakery shop
While it was burning down
And all the frantic firemen there
Were running round and round.

"You stopped and turned the water on
And climbed the ladder high
While smoke and flames were pouring out,
They seemed to fill the sky.

"Then you put that great fire out
And saved some apple cakes
From being burned to cinders black.
Such courage all this takes!

"And that was when an earthquake came
That shook the streets and all.
And over all the thunder there
You heard a baby bawl.

"Then you dashed into a building
While it was falling down
And saved that little baby boy
Whose mother was in town.

"And when you found his mother
And gave him back to her
You wouldn't take a large reward
Of diamonds, gold and fur.

"So the mayor gave you a medal
And the crowd applauded some.
They called you a brave hero
And gave you bubble gum.

"Then you quickly came to tell me
Of this adventurous day
You rushed right home to share it
Without a stop for play.

"Now I'm sure that you'll agree
I've guessed it all at last
You never thought your father
Could guess so very fast."

"You've missed again" she says, annoyed,
"I know you'll never guess
Your guesses are so silly now
To this you must confess.

"I'll tell you now and then you'll know
What happened just today."
"No, no," I cry, "that will not do
I've not had all my say.

"I'll guess it yet, and then you'll see
Just one more try and then
I'll give my guarantee to you
By guesses nine or ten."

"But nine or ten are way too much,"
She says without a smile
"I want to tell it to you now
You're off at least a mile.

"I know that you will never guess
This thing I want to tell."
My back, it gave a great big slump
My face, it really fell.

"You must be right, I cannot guess.
Defeat I must admit.
My long, hard try is over now
It's time for me to quit.

"I've guessed and guessed with all my might
And I've been wrong so far.
I know I'll never guess it now
My record has a mar."

But though I entertained her well
I must have guessed too long
Her eyes grow wide, her face grows pale
I fear that I've done wrong.

She thinks and thinks and now's the time
For her to tell me all.
A pause, a frown, a worried look
I think she's going to bawl.

And then a look comes on her face,
A look that says a lot
She puckers up her eyes and wails
"Oh Daddy, I forgot!"

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