Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

It's Thursday and we're ready to rhyme. It is, after all, the day of Angel Sammy's Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge.

Our courteous poetry host always provides us with a photo prompt. This week's prompt is this humorous image here:

This is one of those times when I fully intended to heavily use this prompt to guide my poem. Then, though, my mind went wandering. My change of course primarily happened when I saw that tired couple napping in the gondola, and then for whatever reason the title "Napping on the Nile" just popped into my head. I know that the body of water in our photo prompt is most certainly not the Nile, but I could not get the title that popped into my head out of my mind. So, I just went with it and ended up with this:

Napping on the Nile

Allie was a grand adventurer.

She traveled everywhere and farther.

She journeyed through lands near and far,

As well as traveled through books with her library card.

Allie's most recent adventure led her to the Nile.

The thought of sailing down the river made her smile.

It was a long ride, though, Allie had to admit.

That's why she took with her a book to entertain her wit.

And so there Allie went, sailing down the Nile River.

It was balmy and warm, and she certainly didn't shiver.

The waters were blue and clear,

And green grass, reeds, and trees loomed near.

Allie enjoyed the view more than she could describe.

She alternated that view with seeing what words her book had inscribed.

The pages held the story of a great jungle tale.

It enhanced the experience of her journey without fail.

Allie gazed and gawked and read her book.

From the pages to the trees to the pages and to the river she looked.

The bobbing of her boat as she sailed the Nile was quite calming.

She grew comfortably sleepy as the weather grew more and more balmy.

Allie's eyelids grew heavy as she enjoyed both sights and words,

And her eyelids finally fell as she listened to the songs of the Nile's grand birds.

As soon as she fell asleep, though, Allie snapped awake.

Had she been awoken by her snoring, or did her boat quake?

She blinked away the sleep in her eyes.

Then she yawned and stretched her arms high.

As she did so, she heard from the trees,

"What brings you here, if you don't mind, please?"

Snapping her head and gaze here, there, and everywhere,

Allie suddenly felt a bit of a scare.

"What? Who said that?" she asked.

"I did," said a great big panther of black.

The giant cat had spoken from the branch of a nearby tree,

And it wasn't the only new arrival that Allie did see.

Also amongst the trees on the shore slithered a giant snake,

As well as a tiger and a bear with fur of none other than grey.

"What's going on?" Allie said as she gripped the sides of her little boat.

Didn't the Nile house animals like crocodiles and hippos?

Why was she instead surrounded by these strange critters?

Seeing them all quite honestly gave her the jitters.

"I'm not here to bother you," Allie said with a frail smile.

"I'll be down the river and out of your hair in just a little while."

The bear took a step forward and actually grinned.

It said, "You're not bothering us one bit, miss."

The tiger skipped and jumped through some reeds,

Saying, "You're free to join us on land for some rest if you're fatigued."

"Yes, indeed. We're always happy for a new friend," the snake hissed and agreed.

The bear then added, "What's your name, miss? Would you tell us, please?"

Still in her boat and trying not to panic,

Allie answered, trying to keep her voice from sounding manic,

"My name's Allie. I'm an adventurer."

"Oh, now that sounds fun!" the bear replied with a shake of his fur.

After a bit more seemingly idle chatter,

Allie began to wonder if these critters wanted to serve her on a platter.

The snake slithered and then dangled from a tree limb,

And the tiger put a paw in the water as if gearing up to swim.

On shore, the bear simply started doing a jig in the reeds,

But the panther in the tree overhead suddenly became concerning indeed.

"It's best not to fall asleep at the wheel, Allie," the panther said,

And then it jumped from its tree perch and seemed to come straight at her head.

Allie jumped and yelled and ducked beneath her arms.

She waited and waited, but realized she had come to no harm.

Peeking over her arms her eyes grew wide.

There was no panther, tiger, bear, or snake in sight.

She sat up in her boat and look all around,

And the sight around her made Allie's heart leap and bound.

The boat was headed straight for a waterfall just ahead!

She zipped and zoomed and finally directed it in the other direction instead.

Catching her breath, her gaze fell to her feet.

The book she had been reading sat open just beneath her seat.

Allie realized she had fallen asleep as she sailed and read.

Had the panther and the others been a dream that kept her from ending up dead?

One thing was for certain, Allie could not lie,

She would never again fall asleep at the wheel, not a single time.

She closed the pages of the tale and to the river ahead she did look,

As her fingers ran across the cover's title that read, The Jungle Book.

***

Now, Thimble is of course ready to participate in Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Last week Thimble expressed how grateful she is for belly rubs. This week, Thimble is following up with that. She's still thankful for belly rubs, but she's also thankful for all sorts of other pets and rubs.

Thimble indeed loves her belly rubbed, but she also loves to have her chin scratched. Really, though, just touch her anywhere and she'll be happy. Thimble's not picky. She just wants love. I myself am incredibly grateful for that.

***

Last but not least, we have the fill-in statements for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. Ellen of 15andmeowing crafted up the first two, and I came up with the second two.


1. I would love to be a fly on the wall in _________.

2. I am missing _________.

3. I could use more _________ in my life.

4. I could do without _________.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

***

Tidbit of the Day

Today's tidbit on COVID-19 and how it can relate to your furbaby is a followup to yesterday's bit of info. Yesterday we talked about making proper plans for your furbaby's care in the event that you get sick. There are other considerations to make if you think or know you have the novel coronavirus, and we'll discuss them now.

If you become sick, as difficult as it sounds, it is likely best to reduce contact with your kitty or pup. One reason is because, as we've mentioned before, there is rare yet still present evidence that humans can potentially spread the novel coronavirus to animals, such as cats. In addition, though animals are not ideal transmitters of pathogens like this virus, it's not guaranteed that an animal's fur, collar, or leash could not potentially spread the disease. So, especially if you live with other people, or if your cat or dog has any access to other people, reduce contact with your kitty or pup as much as possible. As difficult as it is to hear or say this, if you are sick, kissing, hugging, and other such close cuddling with your furbaby is not truly hygienic or safe for your furbaby or other people who come in contact with your cat or dog. Again, as difficult as this is, if you think or know you are sick with COVID-19, try your best to refrain from too much direct contact with your furbaby, as this is one way to help prevent the spread of this disease.