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Old Jim's Tractor






Listen to the Poet Read
 Old Jim had bought a block of land on top of Painter's Hill:
As a spot to fatten cattle this paddock filled the bill!
He put a mob of bullocks there before they went for sale,
And checked them every second day, and thereby hangs a tale!

It didn't happen long ago, 'twas just the other day
That Jim put on his carry-all a biggish bale of hay;
He drove his tractor up the hill to feed his bullock herd,
Where a string of rather strange events unhappily occurred.

As Jim drove past his neighbour's place to turn into his gate,
The bale of hay began to shift, but, jumping off too late,
He didn't have a chance to stop the round and heavy load,
And so he watched the massive bale roll, rumbling, down the road!

It rolled into his neighbour's yard and crushed the roses there;
It missed the aviary, full of birds, with just an inch to spare!
And, disappearing down the hill, it scattered lambs and sheep,
But worse was yet to follow that would cause Old Jim to weep!

As Old Jim watched the heavy bale careering on its way,
The tractor, too, began to move; and, much to his dismay,
Although he chased as fast he could, the tractor travelled faster,
And through his neighbour's yard it went and headed for disaster!

Jim watched in anguish as it crashed, and tears came to his eyes,
He rubbed his hands across his head, and looked up to the skies,
But help was not forthcoming; he took a breath or two,
And wandered slowly 'cross the grass, not sure of what to do.

He knocked upon his neighbour's door, but no-one was about;
He took a notebook from his coat, and tore some paper out.
He scratched his head for quite a while, and then he carefully wrote
A tersely worded, conscience-stricken, most unhappy note.

His neighbour's wife and son came home around a half-past-four,
And straightaway they saw the note that Jim put on their door:
They read it once, they read it twice, and then the mother spoke,
"I think," she said, "that this must be some silly sort of joke."

But no! They read the note aloud - "I'm sorry," it began,
"About the tractor in your tank - I'll drop in to explain."
They looked across the yard and saw their battered water tank,
From where the tractor hit the side, continued on, and sank!

"It looks to me," remarked the son, "he's dropped in once today."
But Jim came round again that night, and said, "Of course, I'll pay
The cost of a new water tank: I'm sorry for the mess;
But accidents will always be a part of life, I guess!"

The water tank has been replaced, the tractor's good as new,
The garden bed has been restored where once the roses grew;
But gossip travels very fast, and next day, on his gate,
Jim wasn't pleased to find a pair of giant "learner" plates
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