Sammy the Alligator

I want to tell you about the adventures of Sammy the Alligator.  Sammy, when he was born, he was born very, very small. But he was an alligator.  And his mommy and daddy left him because he was too small.  And they left him on this farm, where they figured he would just be eaten up by some of the animals.

He was just too small to go in the river with them. They thought that Sammy would not be able to swim like they did.  

So on the farm was a little boy named Billy.  He was 7 years old.  And he would walk the farm and look on the ground.  He just loved to look on the ground to look for animals.  He saw the little alligator.  And he said, "Oh my goodness, what a little alligator."  And he put the small alligator, it was so small, he put it in the palm of his hand.  And he said, "Oh I love this little alligator.  I'm going to take care of it.  I'm going to feed it.  And I'm going to name him Sammy."  

So that's how Sammy got his name.  By Billy.  Billy, who was 7 years old, fed the little alligator.  He would give him milk.  And then he would give him leaves.  And he gave him even little bugs.  And the alligator every day got bigger and bigger.   And so did Billy.  So when Billy turned to be 8, the alligator was getting pretty, pretty big.  And the mother and father of Billy said, "What are you doing with this alligator?  We can't have this alligator.  We're worried about him.  The alligator is so big."  

And Billy got upset and said.  "But his name is Sammy and he's my pet.  He's my friend. And He won't hurt anybody.  He won't.  I promise. I promise."

So the mother and father let Billy take care of the alligator.  And Billy became 9.  And the alligator got biiiigger and bigger and looooonger and longer.

And there was a communication between Billy and Sammy that none of the parents or anybody around the farm could understand.  But they would talk to each other.  The alligator would talk to Billy and Billy would talk to the alligator.  And they understood each other.

So one day, Billy came running to the alligator and said "Guess what Sammy!  My mom and dad are going to give me a birthday party.  I'm going to be 10 years old Sunday, and they're gonna invite a bunch of children, and we're gonna have a lot of fun!"  

Sammy said, "Oh that sounds so great!  So you're gonna be 10 years old."  And he said, "so I guess I'm gonna be 10."  

But Sammy was a lot bigger than Billy.  He was looong, and he had a big mouth and a long tail and big eyes. 

The mother and father of Billy were afraid to go near the alligator.  But every time they threatened to get rid of the alligator, Billy would cry and say, "No no, he's my pet.  He won't hurt anybody.  He won't eat the animals...nothing!  Nothing!"

So Sunday came and a bunch of children came.  Girls and boys 10 years old.  "Happy Birthday Billy. Happy Birthday Billy."  

But they knew that Billy had the pet alligator.  And they wouldn't go near the pet alligator, but they loved Billy.

Everybody loved Billy.  He was such a good boy.  And he had so many friends. But they would sidestep Sammy the alligator because they were afraid of him.

So they had cake and ice cream and sang Happy Birthday.

It was so much fun.  

And then one of the children said, "Oh let's play hide and seek.  Let's play hide and seek."  So they did.  

They said, "We're gonna hide.  We're gonna hide.  Billy you have to come and find us."  

So Billy counted to 10 and everybody hid.  And after 10 Billy went to go look for his friends.

And he looked and he looked and he couldn't find them.

And there was the alligator coming out of the bushes.

And Billy said, "Sammy did you see any of the children?"  

And the alligator said, "Uh...uh...no..."  

Billy said, "I can't find anybody.  I can't find anybody."

 

And he starts to get really really worried because the alligator came out of the bushes but nobody else did.  

And then he looked at Sammy, and he said, "Sammy, did you do what my mom and dad said you might do?  Did you eat my friends?  I think you ate my friends!  I think you ate my friends!"

And Sammy said, "I...I...I..."

And then all the sudden the kids came out of hiding. "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!" And Billy was so happy.  He jumped around.  He danced.  And he said,

"You really hid, I couldn't find you."  And they said, "Oh it's so much fun to hide.  We hid in the barn and the stable.  It was so much fun watching you try to find us."

 

And then the party ended and everybody went home.

And Billy was there with the alligator, Sammy.  And Billy said to Sammy, "Sammy I want to tell you...I...I'm sorry that I thought..."  

And Sammy said to Billy, "I'm sorry. I can't stay here because you don't trust me anymore.  Trust is so important."  

And he wiggled away.  Away.  And he never never came back.