daneallred

Harvey Humdinger

by Dane Allred

 

One day Harvey Humdinger was sitting around,

Just being quiet, not making a sound,

When out of the blue came a shy little voice,

That said, “Harvey, please help me to make a good choice.”

 

Harvey looked under the sofa and under the chair,

But saw that no one was found to be there.

“What was that small voice?” Harvey thought to himself.

“Could it come from the closet, or up on the shelf?”

 

And just when Harvey thought he must be deluded,

“My imagination’s acting up,” he concluded.

But just at that moment, he heard it again,

A voice that called out to Harvey, “Attention!”

 

“I’m trying to choose between right and wrong,

And you look so wise, trustworthy and strong,

 I just know you can help me decide what is right,

And help me to grow, before I vanish from sight!”

 

Harvey thought to himself, “Such a small voice,

It’s not the small voice that guides me in a choice.

I wonder who could have a voice that’s so small?

I wonder if this voice is not there at all?

 

“I’m right here,” said the voice, “You can’t see me yet,

But I’m smaller than anyone you’ve ever met.

Just help me to do one thing that is right,

And I promise I’ll grow and appear in your sight.”

 

“What do you need to decide, my small friend?”

Said Harvey, “What kind of help can I lend?”

“Well, to help me out first, please tell me sir,

When I play with my best friend, should I be nice to her?”

 

Harvey had never heard of such a thing,

“Of course you should always be nice, and to everything.”

“Even my dog, or my cat when they’re cross?”

“Especially then.”  “But what about Ross?”

 

Harvey scratched his head and wondered out loud,

“Who is Ross?”  “He’s my brother, and he is quite proud,

Of being a nuisance and making me mad.”

“No matter what, be nice to the lad.”

 

“Be nice to friends?  To Ross?  Nice to All?

That is the secret of how to stand tall?”

And just at that moment, Harvey heard a strange sound,

A very strange sound that came up from the ground.

 

And suddenly standing before his very eyes,

Was a very small person of very small size!

“How do you do?  And thanks for the advice,

You’ve helped me to grow to a size that’s quite nice.”

 

“I’m Arnold,” he said.  “So what is your name?”

“I’m Harvey Humdinger.  Say what is this game?”

“I’m sorry to say that it’s no game at all,

But my poor manners that have made me so small.”

 

“I was rude to my neighbors, my pets and my friends,

I drove my parents around many bends.

I was small and petty, and so one night

I simply vanished completely from sight!”

 

“Since that time I have wandered the earth,

To try to find someone, like you of great worth!

Someone who can help me to grow very tall,

To tell me the truth about one and all!”

 

Harvey sat Arnold down upon his knee,

And said, “Arnold, now please listen to me.

‘Be nice to all’, is a great place to start,

‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’ are a very large part.”

 

“But the thing I have learned that is of the most worth,

Since the day I appeared here upon this earth,

Is that no matter how small or how tall,

You must show love to one and to all.”

 

Arnold sat silently for quite a while,

And then suddenly he broke out in a smile.

“But Harvey, I do love all that I see,

And I hope everyone feels love from me.”

 

“I think no matter how tall or how small,

Love is the greatest gift of them all.

I will show my love to everyone now,

Since you’ve been so kind as to show me how.”

 

And Arnold grew up more in that minute,

Than in all his life and the minutes in it.