The trunk of a squirrel
The head of a hare
With a deer’s antlers somehow
Attached onto there.
The wings of a pheasant,
And little duck feet:
I’m the komischest creature
You’re likely to meet.
It has been alleged
(Though you’ll never confirm this)
That I was invented
By bored taxidermists
To sell to the tourists
Who come to Bavaria.
Nein! You can find me
Throughout that whole area!
I’m called Wolpertinger
And that’s not so bad,
Compared to the name
That I might well have had;
So when talking about me
Just count your good fortune:
At least you don’t have to say
“Hasenfasanhirschenteinhörnchen!”
Tom Juniper Poetry 