Just So

Grandma has the most wonderful book that’s filled with the biggest and bestest of all the adventures. Just So.

The book wasn’t on the shelf. I’ve checked three times. Left to right. Up to down. Down to up. And it’s not there. Just So. I’ll never know how the whale got his throat, or how the camel got his hump. Maybe the cat will have to walk by himself for all the rest of time. Just So. This book has been on the shelf in the bedroom for all the time gone by. And now it’s not. The crab will keep playing with the sea and the elephant’s child will have to wait for a while longer, until the book is found and the sing-song of the old man kangaroo fades. 

Right to left. Just So. And it winks at me. The spine peeling, it’s changed, like the leopard getting his spots. Off the shelf it jumps into my hand. I clutch it close and cross the room to tumble into bed. Now the cat will no longer walk alone, as I soar beside him. And the alphabet can be made after the first letter has been written and I can read to the tune of the old man kangaroo’s sing-song. The elephant’s child can watch a little longer. Until the pages stop turning... as my eyes close. Until tomorrow Kipling. It’s Just So.