Not to be confused with the basilisk, this creature is captured by the people of Val Camonica, Italy every Epiphany, whereupon it reveals gossip about the people it’s seen getting up to mischief over the year.
Signorina Gabriela’s
Eating sweeties on the sly
And she’s says she’s on a diet
But I tell you, it’s a lie.
And that old Signor Brambilla
Stays in bed long after nine
And he says that it’s a migraine
But it isn’t, it’s the wine.
I have seen Signora Rossi
So polite to all her neighbours,.
In their gardens late at night
Stealing the fruits of all their labours
And the postman, Signor Rocco
Has delivered more than letters
To Guiseppina the waitress
(But she likes the baker better).
For you know I’m always watching
From the forest, all the year
And I see your little secrets,
And I hear the things I hear.
Every January you catch me
And you lead me in to town
So I know that you must want
To hear the gossip that I’ve found.
It is good to start the year off
With a slate that’s been wiped clean
I don’t like to cause you trouble
I’m not trying to be mean
But when you are misbehaving
Just remember there’s a risk
That your deeds will be recounted
By your local badalisc.
Tom Juniper Poetry 