The man who was always late!

Once there was a man
Who was always late
Thus he had to hurry everywhere
And this was his sad fate!

This is a small piece from his life
When he was bound to catch a train
He forgot about the time
And said there wasn't much to gain!

He screamed furiously at his wife
Said "why do you bother about me
Mind your own complicated business
Or else I will make you flee!"

So this is how his day started With screaming at everyone He wasn't up to anything And would shoot if he had a gun! He got ready extremely slowly
Said he wasn't in a hurry; Rushed downstairs to the dining hall And spilt over his head, fish curry!

He was about to go to bed once more
When he realized he had to catch a train
He had an hour to go to the station
He quickly put on his shabby coat
And hurried off the lane When he suddenly met Mr. Roy Whom he knew was a total bane!

He tried hard not to notice him
But things weren' t always his way
He tripped over a stone while hurrying
And fell on Mr. Roy's foot

With full irritation shown on his face
He stood there watching Mr. Roy
Who coldly said "oh 'morning
I didn't notice you say hello boy"

For this the man hastily said
"'morning, but I ought to go away
Meet you sometime shortly
With a bunch more to say"

As if he were in a march past
He quickly scurried away
Much to his exasperation
He came across Mrs. May

She was a nice, kind woman
But that's what people thought
For him she was a nasty lady
Who chattered and babbled a lot!

"Good morning" she said sweetly
"Oh yeah" replied the man
His face completely red with anger
His moustache surely twitched

"I am running late" he blurted
And down the lane he scurried!
He really neared the station
He could vaguely hear the whistle of the train
But he still had a mile to go
And he zoomed away again!

Up the lane once more he ran
And down the grassy hill
He now spotted the railway station
With its huge sloping sill!

At last he came to an end
Where the bustling railway lay
He took out the ticket from his pocket
And ran under the sun's scorching ray!

On the filthy railway platform
He saw a sturdy policeman
He stopped him zooming away
And said that he ought to take a van!

But this unfortunate man here
Was as stingy as he could be
He said it was a waste of money
That he wouldn't bother to run

He tugged away the luggage bag
Perhaps the only one he had
He climbed the stairs of the train
And pushed away a small lad!

He ran with his luggage
And came across a place
Where he harshly put his bag
And puffing loudly he finished the great race!

But the man had learnt his lesson
And never was he again late
He made sure he was on time
And to never be late

-Prakruthi Harihar,Sri Kumaran Children's Home, VIII Std 'D' Sec SKCH - CBSE.