When Hannah was playing and Mum wasn't looking,
A frinkle came saying, "Hey baby, what's cooking?
Just thought I'd check up to make sure you were happy,
With juice in your cup and a spanking-fresh nappy."

Well, Hannah was having a marvelous day
Of smiling and laughing in innocent play,
So handing the frinkle her favorite toy,
She smiled with a wrinkle of consummate joy.

The frinkle said, "Splendid! But answer me please,
Has playtime just ended, or where are your keys?
I'm sure you can see that your toys are for kids,
While grownups have keychains and bottles and lids!"

And that's all it took for the mischievous frinkle
To alter the look of the happy girl's wrinkle,
For now it was curled in an envious pout,
Protesting a world that was leaving her out.

"Don't worry! I'm here!" said the frinkle with glee.
"I'll help you! I'll cheer! And I'll do it for free!
Remember, I'm only concerned for your best.
I don't want you lonely or bored or depressed!
Now look, on the table: a keychain! How fun!
I wager you're able to grab it and run!
Just climb up the chair and get up on your toes,
And reach--but take care not to fall on your nose!"

Now, Mummy and Dad had explicitly said
That climbing was bad on the chairs or the bed,
And Hannah was worried that she could be caught
And felt rather hurried, and thought she should not.

But frinkles are clever, and this one declared,
"A big girl would never be worried or scared
Of how Mum and Dad would react if they caught her--
And isn't it bad to keep keys from your daughter?"

The keys looked inviting and grown-up and fun,
And Hannah, deciding to grab them and run,
Made fast for the chair and was soon to her toes,
Taking too little care not to fall on her nose.

She slipped and she stumbled! She pitched through the air,
Then toppled and tumbled! And no one was there!
The frinkle was gone just as quick as he'd come.
The ground coming on, there was no one but...

Mum!

That's right! It was Mum, who was just checking up
And thought she might come to put juice in a cup
And see that her daughter was generally happy,
Who said when she caught her, "You need a fresh nappy!"

So Hannah decided that frinkles are stinkers,
And girls should be guided by lovers and thinkers
Like Mummy and Dad, who make sensible rules,
And making them sad is the business of fools.