Tamrica

            by Judith Joy

 

 

Long ago in the desert of Africa,

There lived a small cheetah cub by the name of Tamrica.

Small spots covered her body, but the cheetah wanted more,

For cheetah friends, she had none, and that is all she longed for.

                       

                       

 

Watching the groups of friends, the cool lions and cats,

She noticed them pushing on all the zebra, catching them dead in their tracks.

And with that grew an idea for the young and naïve cheetah,

To be cool and have cat friends, you must be tricky like the Hyena.

           

                       

 

And so Cheetah decided the very next day,

To make friends with the others, she just had to say:

            “Zebra, zebra, come over; come over this way,”

And this one zebra, by the age of only two,

Came over to Tamrica, and then left crying boo-hoo.

For Tamrica looked the little zebra straight in the eye,

And stole every black stripe off the zebra, without even a try.

 

                      

 

But the weirdest thing was, after she stole all the stripes,

And left the poor zebra alone and all white,

The cool lions and cats began laughing and smiling, all through the night.

This night marks the time when the young and naïve Tamrica,

Became known as the coolest cat in all the deserts of Africa.

And young Tamrica, oooh was she happy with glee,

No other cheetah compared, no one was cooler than she,

She stood there,

Chest puffed in the air,

Almighty and proud, swaying her hip side to side,

The zebra’s just stared and got scared and left the poor zebra alone while he cried.

 

                      

 

But tomorrow came fast,

And Tamrica’s glory unfortunately did not last,

Because as little Tamrica soon found out,

Being cool wasn’t what friendships were really about.

For the very next day, she wore those stripes proudly,

But the cubs started to stare, and began to laugh loudly,

            “What are you doing?” The cubs said in fear,

            “Everyone knows that Tigers don’t belong here!”

But wait! Thought Tamrica, this isn’t fair,

I’m not a Tiger! I promise, I swear,

I’m the same ol’ me!

Tamrica, a cheetah! Don’t you guys see?

But the cubs laughed and pointed, it wasn’t a use,

Cool Tamrica, once head of the train, was now at the caboose.

 

                       

 

She started without cheetah friends, but now she had none at all,

Loneliness caught her, she felt very, very small.

So sadly, she left, feeling down and out,

She just couldn’t understand what friends were really about.

So she wandered back home,

To her families love and care,

            “I know I’ll never feel like an outcast there.”

But as Tamrica knocked on the door,

Tears then filled her bright eyes,

For her mom came and answered, but to her horrible surprise,

Her mom stood there and stared,

            “Can I help you, young tiger?”

            “But, no mom, it’s me!”

            “What? You can’t be my daughter!

            Good luck on your search darling, please take care,

            While your mom isn’t here, she must be somewhere…”

 

                           

 

So again Tamrica left, feeling so sad,

She wished there was something to make her more glad.

So she wandered and walked down crocodile aisle,

She walked and she wandered for what seemed like a mile,

Until she looked around and didn’t know where she was,

Suddenly on her walk, she heard a great “buzz”.

Trees! What big trees!

They were covered in bees.

And what fun were they having, doing whatever they pleased.

            “I didn’t know bees all played together like that!”

They chased and they raced, but the skinny and fat!

And then her face grew a glorious smile,

When they cooed, “Come friend! Come play for a while!”

            “But I’m not a bee,” the cheetah said slowly,

            “But neither are we,” said the giant rolly polly’s.

So the cheetah joined in,

And made a few friends,

And now her long sadness had come to an end.

 

                      

 

When night came and it was time to say goodbye,

She feeling happy, her spirits were high.

She had new friends: the bees in the trees,

And she knew no friendships were greater than these!

She silently crept back home through the night,

When all of a sudden, she saw a startling sight:

The zebra sitting there sadly alone and all white.

            “Zebra, your stripes are right here,

            I’m sorry, please take them,” she said with a tear.

The zebra looked up, as the tear trickled down,

            “Thank you,” he said, “but why the big frown?”

The cheetah looked at him, with his spots worn with pride,

His stripes he’d given back, but it was time to apologize:

            “I wanted cheetah friends, so I treated you that way,

            It was wrong and was no use, that’s why ‘I’m sorry’ I say.”

 

                      

And with that the little cheetah, turned right around,

And left the little zebra sitting right there on the ground.

But the zebra got up, looking the cheetah straight in the eye,

            “But wait! Zebras and cheetahs should give friendship a try.

            I know you wanted a stripe, so here! It’s yours! Have one!”

And with that, the zebra and cheetahs friendship had begun.

The zebra and cheetah, the very next day,

Came to school happy, together, and they played.

And the other cool lions and cats,

Seemed to stare, not out of hate, but because they admired that.

And so the trend kept on going,

And going and going and going,

Until more than just the zebra and cheetahs friendships were showing.

Until the snakes and giraffe, the lion and the crocodile,

Were all playing together on that crocodile aisle!

So let it be known that to this day in that part of Africa,

Cheetahs and zebras are friends, all because of Tamrica.