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Andrew’s
graze upon his arm
Itched
a bit but did no harm
He
got it falling out of bed
(When
he also bruised and banged his head)
Then
the graze became a scab
The
most troublesome one that Andrew had had
He
wanted to poke it
He
wanted to lick it
He
wanted to scratch it
He
wanted to pick it
But
his Mum said
“NO!
“Leave
it be
“Or
it’ll turn septic and nasty and green
“Into
the scariest scab that anyone’s seen”
So
Andrew said `ok’ and agreed with his mother
But
when she wasn’t looking (and nor was his brother)
He
unpeeled the dressing that she had stuck on
And
tried to remove it until it was gone
He
touched it
He
dabbed it
He
pulled it
He
jabbed it
But
it just wouldn’t budge
In
fact it got bigger and dripped drops of blood
That
soon dried
Making
the scab much larger in size
His
Mum said “Have you picked your scab Andrew?”
“No
way” he replied
(But
of course we all know that Andrew had lied)
Then
Mum glimpsed him later from the corner of her eye
Giving
his scab removing skills another try
But
his Mum said
“NO!
“Leave
it be
“Or
it’ll turn septic and nasty and green
“Into
the scariest scab that anyone’s seen”
So
once more Andrew promised to hold his urge back
And
not play with his scab (that was now turning black)
But
did he stick to his word?
Of
course he did not
He
tugged it
And
lugged it
Till
what once was a spot
Could
be seen through his shirt
His
Mum put Savlon on it to clean out the dirt
(And
OUCH did that hurt!?)
And
sent him to his room for disobeying her wishes
(After
she made him wash up all the dishes)
Andrew
said “Mum can’t I just pull the thing off?
“Cause
it’s starting to ooze ‘orrible gunky stuff”
But
his Mum said
“NO!
“Leave
it be
“Or
it’ll turn septic and nasty and green
“Into
the scariest scab that anyone’s seen”
But
Andrew didn’t listen to her wise warning
He
thought “I’ll prod it with a pin, it’ll be gone by morning”
He
tried to remove
He
tried to grab it
He
tried to loosen it
He
tried to stab it
It
was the most annoying thing in his life
He
tried to burn it and cut it with a sharp knife
But
it grew and grew and got very gigantic
He
went to the doctor and even he panicked
His
Dad (who had been quite quiet to date)
Said
to him “Andrew – listen, I’m telling you mate
“NO!
“Leave
it be
“Or
it’ll turn septic and nasty and green
“Into
the scariest scab that anyone’s seen”
But
did he take heed?
Did
he like heck?
His
scab was all over his arms, his hands and his neck
It
went down his legs and up to his tummy
He
was wishing he’d followed the advice from his Mummy
But
Andrew was not the kind of child to obey
Anyone
a bit older, or wrinkly or grey
He
thought he knew better
He
thought he knew best
Even
though the scab had now spread to his chest
So
he carried on picking
He
carried on scratching
His
friends stayed away in case it was catching
It
got more and more sore
And
more and more raw
But
his Mum said
“NO!
“Leave
it be
“Or
it’ll turn septic and nasty and green
“Into
the scariest scab that anyone’s seen”
But
it was too late
That
moment had passed
So
she covered Andrew from head to toe in cast
And
put gloves on his hands
Which
she glued to his sides
So
he could not reach his scab no matter how hard he tried
Mum
kept him like that for a year and a day
Until
she unwrapped him and his scab fell away
Once
more his skin was as smooth as a baby’s bottom
His
scabby dark days could now be forgotten
And
Andrew said
“YES!
“That’s
the end of my scab
“The
scariest scab that anyone’s had”
So
if he gets a scab now he still might scratch it
But
only a small scratch – it won’t become a bad habit
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