Gronkle the Grey

Gronkle the Grey was a wizard by trade

He lived and he worked in a treehouse he’d made

He wore a grey cloak and he carried a staff

And he kept on his hat, even when in the bath

Deep in the forest he kept himself busy

Making cures for sore throats and when people got dizzy

Grumpy old Gronk liked to be left alone

He didn’t have many close friends of his own

Most days he stayed by himself in the woods

And fed wild beasts to deliver his goods

He sometimes got lonely as the days went by

There was no one around to enjoy his apple pie

In his latest recipe he’d added some pear

It was so good, he thought, it might be nice to share

Life in a treehouse was sometimes quite tough

The leaves dropped in autumn, the winter was rough

Gronkle the Grey kept his house nice and neat

With his bottles lined up on the shelves by his seat

But nothing bothered old Gronk more

Than the cobwebs that kept showing up round his door

They seemed to be coming back everyday

And each morning he’d rise and dust them away

One day he forgot to clean the door out

And leaving the house caught the webs on his snout

“Right that’s enough, I’ve had it!” He snaps

“I must find the spider who’s leaving these traps

I tidy my treehouse and line up my potions

I cook and I clean and I label my lotions

I just don’t have any more time in the day

To keep dusting the webs from my doorframe away.”

So Gronkle began to search high and low

For the eight-legged culprit and ask him to go

The wizard kept looking ’til the sun went to bed

He just stopped for a coffee but dozed off instead

He woke to the sound of his own loud snore

His eyes opened, something moved by the door

A fluffy black spider was spinning and weaving

Gronk looked with anger at the webs he was leaving

“Got you!” He cried, jumping up from his chair

“So, you’re the one who keeps leaving webs there

It’s not very fun having to dust everyday

So, I must ask you to please go away.”

The spider looked startled, then sheepish, then sad

“I’m sorry,’ he said, “but please don’t get mad

This is the very best place to catch flies

They come into the house for a taste of your pies

Please don’t throw me out into the rain

I promise I won’t spin my webs there again.”

Gronk stopped to think, put the kettle back on

And invited the spider for tea and a scone

They had a nice chat, the wizard and spider

And under his beard, Gronk’s smile grew wider

He hadn’t had this much fun for an age

And all with the one who had caused so much rage.

“You know what,” it was Gronkle who spoke

“Perhaps I was wrong, you’re not such a bad bloke

If you would like to, I’ll let you stay

But no more cobwebs round the doorframes, ok?”

The spider was delighted. “I’d love to stay!” He cried

“I’ll take my cobwebs down and only spin them when outside.”

Old Gronkle and the spider, who’s name was really Flick

Explore the woods together with a web on a walking stick

And when they go out walking, the stick becomes a net

Gronk catches flies for his supplies and feeds some to his pet

And so it turned out, that in the end

Gronkle the Grey preferred life with a friend