Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

Did you know it's Thursday? Well, it's Thursday. That means we're going to do some rhyming. After all, it's time for Angel Sammy's Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge.

Our host would never just leave us hanging, so a photo prompt is offered every week. This week's prompt is this mesmerizing image here:

I find scenes like this to be so beautiful. What's more, though, this reminded me of an inside joke my mom and I have. When we get tired of things like, well, people, we always joke that we're just going to go live the hermit life out in a cabin in the woods. That thought got me thinking, and ultimately resulted in the insanely long poem below.

Hermit the Hog

Once upon a time there lived a hog,

In a cabin nestled in the mountains north of the bog.

This hog had just one wish,

And that was that no one would know he did exist.

Hermit was, of course, this recluse hog's name.

It was when he was alone that he felt most sane.

Friends were not something that he even once sought.

Hermit did not want company, no he did not.

But, alas, on one fine day Hermit heard something outside.

Was that the sound of voices rising low then high?

Just that mere thought left him dumbfounded.

Was he not safe even in his home deep in the mountains?

As the voices outside grew more and more near,

Hermit felt a boiling mixture of anger and fear.

He hoped whoever it was would walk right on by.

He passed the time by jumping behind a chair to hide.

Hermit shivered when the voices outside grew louder.

He was really starting to feel quite perturbed and sour.

The chittering and chattering stalled just outside his door.

Hermit hoped beyond hope for an end to this horror.

But then there came a tapping and a knocking.

Hermit quietly insisted that the door would not be unlocking.

He planned on staying tucked out of sight behind his chair.

He would be speaking to no one, not here, not anywhere.

The knocking at the door, though, it did not stop.

The intruders insisted with their knock, knock, knock!

One of them finally shouted through the door,

"Hello? We need directions, nothing more!"

Hermit the hog tried and tried to hold his ground.

He tried to ignore the intrusive knocking and talking sounds.

Whoever stood on the other side of the door, though,

They didn't seem to want to leave, no.

Hermit wondered if he'd have to go out there and shoo them away.

That would certainly ruin what had once been a fine day.

After minutes and more minutes of hiding and waiting,

The intruders' chattering and requests for directions were not abating.

Finally, Hermit drew a deep breath and scurried to the door.

He planned on demanding they leave, and nothing more.

He flung open the door and shouted, "Go away!"

Perhaps that would be enough to send the intruders on their way.

Hermit had no more than slammed the door,

When the intruders spoke to him once more.

"Please, good sir, we've just gotten a little lost.

If you would just give us directions, we'll pay you whatever it costs."

Hermit the hog tried to wait them out,

But they continued to plead and perhaps even pout.

The intruders refused to stop so rudely loitering,

So Hermit threw open the door yet again.

He only just now truly saw the three intruders with his own eyes.

One was a brown mutt of a dog of a rather large size.

The other two were not nearly as big,

Both being cats with long tails that did wave and flick.

"The road's over there," Hermit grumbled and pointed.

He hoped that would be enough to get those intruders going.

"We tried the road of which you speak," said one of the cats with a mew,

"But the river flooded and traveling it is now not something we can do."

Hermit knew of a secret path that led out of the mountains,

But he wasn't sure it was something on which he wanted to give counsel.

After all, that was his little known way to travel in peace.

Then again, he'd never again know peace with these three freaks.

Hermit mumbled and huffed and groaned,

But told the intruders that the way he would quickly show.

The dog and the cats thanked him over and over and over.

Their incessant gratitude made him eager to return to being a loner.

Hermit told the troublesome three to follow him,

And to hurry and make this a very quick trip.

Though Hermit hoped for pure and unbroken silence,

His intruders talked so much the short walk seemed like miles.

Somewhere in their rambling the dog did ponder,

"Good sir, does this mountain have more waterfalls like the one over yonder?"

Hermit scoffed and rolled his eyes as he said,

"This mountain has no waterfalls, so be quiet instead."

"But we just came from the waterfall," one of the cats did reply.

They all nodded to prove what they said was not a lie.

The other cat said, "This beautiful waterfall is practically in your back yard.

You must come see it, for it's certainly not far!"

The dog and cats trotted off in the other direction,

Before Hermit the hog could even grumble an objection.

He considered running back inside the safety of his home,

But he knew they would come back and not leave him alone.

And so Hermit stomped after the intruders,

Intending on telling them he'd never met anyone ruder.

When he reached the three pests, though,

He learned that they had not been lying, no.

He faced a waterfall that glittered and glistened.

It roared a lullaby that made for a pleasant listen.

"You've really never seen this before?" the dog asked.

"I don't get out much," Hermit answered, matter-of-fact.

Hermit had no idea how long he was under the water's spell.

It was the three visitors who said they best be off before night fell.

Though he found himself reluctant to leave this beautiful place,

Hermit knew beating the stars would indeed be a race.

He sighed and led the way to his secret path down the mountain,

And dog and cats again thanked him for his company and counsel.

Just before they turned to leave,

One of the cats smiled and did plea,

"Won't you sometime go with us on a hike through all this land?

Today we found so many places that are really quite grand.

It wasn't just the waterfall we found today,

But also a mesmerizing collection of fully furnished caves!"

"There are caves in these mountains?" Hermit did asked, shocked.

Hermit the hog scratched his head and gave it a thought.

Then he looked in the direction of the waterfall and said,

"Come back tomorrow. Perhaps you can convince me then."

***

Now, of course, we have for you a pretty Thimble and her Thankfuls on this Thankful Thursday.

Thimble is not only grateful for that beautiful sunshine, but also for the cat trees at our house. Can you see the one she's posing with here? Can you? Here, Thimble will try to give you a bit of a better look.

Just look at that wonderfully tattered sisal rope. This cat tree is well-loved and has met a great many claws. Thimble is so very thankful for it.

We're going to sound like a broken record, but we're also yet again so very thankful for all of you!

***

Now we're going to help you prep for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. If you'd like to participate, the fill-in statements can be found below. Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. I could use some suggestions for _________.

2. I never refuse _________.

3. I hope _________ never changes.

4. I would rate _________ a 10 out of 10.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

***

Did you know?

Did you know that cats sleep for roughly 2/3 of their life? This means that a 9-year-old cat has slept through roughly 6 years of their life. Indeed, a typical cat sleeps approximately 16 hours per day. Old or sick cats may sleep more like 20 hours per day.