’Twas a long night in Gleason, when all through the room
Not a person was stirring, a silence of gloom;
A plate of cookies was laid before me with care,
In hopes that a friend of mine soon would be there;
The cookies were nestled all snug on the plate,
For students who planned to be studying late;
And late though I studied, in my hand was a frappe,
I found my eyes heavy, just awoken from my nap;
When in Gleason I put my hand on the platter,
and a cookie I took, splitting it with a clatter;
And up to my mouth it arose in a flash,
I crunched on the cookie in a rather quick gnash;
But soft! Suddenly the lights twinkled like snow,
Their rays cast down on the carpet below;
The world seemed to spin and before me appeared,
A whole bunch of gnomes, one sporting a beard;
The jolly gnome spoke, he called out to me,
His voice cried out in a fit of such glee;
“Sir, now get up. Come quick to the wall!
“You ate these here cookies?? You finished them all??”
“Yes,” I said, “I ate the plate too.
“Don’t worry, I always remember to chew!”
The gnome looked at me in a flash of great fright,
“Do not let this man get out of my sight.”
They bound my hands with a magical cuff,
And threw me down to the carpet so rough;
For eating some cookies, I would be arrested.
But against their brutish ways, I plainly protested.
With a boom and a crackle, I alit in a pop
Laughing and cackling, I fled with no stop;
As I sprang away from Gleason and blinked out of sight,
I gave them a wink and shouted MERRY GLEASON TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT!
