Guess who I took on holiday with me
Look at the picture and you will see,
Yes it was the tortoise that came
By the way The General is his name.
He wasn`t a bit of bother in the car
And 365 miles is really quite far,
If he wasn`t eating then he was asleep
So from him we never heard a peep.
When we got there and let him loose
Trying to keep an eye on him was no use,
As soon as I turned my back he was gone
For his own safety this was just not on.
I think he thought our garden had grown
For this was a field just newly mown,
I could read the cloud above his head
`Adventures await me` and so he fled.
He must have thought `Freedom at last`
For he galloped away ever so fast,
Whoever said that tortoises are slow
Are so very wrong and I should know.
The wind-breaker then became his den
I thought I could contain him then,
How wrong I was he`d upped and gone
For all my efforts I still hadn`t won.
I pegged down the canvas everywhere
That halted his gallop I declare,
But I wasn`t cruel I let him stray
But within my sight he would stay.
Tired out he would fall asleep
From under his mat he would peep,
That was after he`d had his fun
When all was quiet and day was done.
