Now that the night has come and the light
Of the moon's shining there overhead,
'Neath that full moon so pale I'll tell you a tale
That will fill your heart with dread;
This tale I'll tell plain, you may think I'm insane,
Of the truth you must be the discerner;
In this tale that I'll tell you'll hear what befell
The boy named Henry Turner.

Now Henry Turner was a real quick learner from the day that he was born;
By the age of one he was reading the Sun newspaper every morn.
By the age of two little Henry knew how to do his father's taxes.
At three years old he'd invented and sold a switch for phones and faxes.

His folks were amazed and a little bit dazed by the speed at which he learned;
But nothing was strange in his mental range as far as he was concerned.
By five and a half he'd completed a graph of a model for high finance.
He refined his style of investing while his friends still wet their pants.

His net income was a sizely sum from his patents and investments.
This kid was smart, off all the charts of intelligence assessments.
His next creation, a web application, was "JANE", named after his mom;
To her he showed how she could download from Henrysoft dot com.

Before going to bed he filled his head with ancient Greek philosophy:
Aristotle and Plato, he thought they were great oh and let's not forget about Socrates.
He ate his fruit and read Sir Isaac Newton and while he took his bath,
He thought he was lucky that instead of rubber ducky he could play with finite math.

At the age of six he was getting his kicks on his P.C. hacking inta,
The main database of the CIA's headquarters in Virginia.
His next invention really got the attention of the scientists at NASA;
He made a rocket engine hybrid that could run on crusts of rye bread and tomato soup, potato chips and pasta !

By the time he was seven he was making eleven million U.S. dollars a year.
On Christmas he gave to his father Dave a jet he bought from Lear.
When eight he turned he'd already earned a Ph.D. from Yale;
His dad begged the lad, "Henry slow down a tad", but it was to no avail.

His parents requested that Henry be tested and the final results were shocking;
This boy could produce more brain function use than even Stephen Hawking.
T'wards some goal he was speeding and he couldn't stop reading no matter if he tried.
He was lost in thought, never sleeping a lot, his mind always occupied.

At nine his mind was full of Einstein's theories of relativity;
He invented a train which great speeds could attain using thermal nuclear activity.
Next his focus was bent on an experiment with genetic engineering;
He soon could produce a clone of a goose, this kid was pioneering !

He'd accomplished by ten much more than most men had achieved in a lifetime of work.
He succeeded because there just never was a challenge from which he would shirk.
Now it goes without saying in this tale I'm conveying that this boy never needed a sitter,
But this prodigious lad, one bad habit had: Henry Turner loved to litter !

After eating a lunch of chocolate Crunch the wrapper he threw in the street.
When he'd done with his smoke and finished his Coke the garbage was tossed at his feet.
No he'd never choose to reduce or reuse, recycling wasn't his thing.
This little wrong-doer dumped oil down the sewer, this kid was the litter-bug king.

He loved to break glass all over the grass and he loved to throw cans at the fish.
Henry Turner would stay and litter all day in the park if he had his wish.
But he was discrete and when out on the street wouldn't litter if he was in view;
He'd be quite polite until out of sight then he'd do what he wanted to do.

He emptied his potions right into the ocean and many were PCP laced.
He went to the park, always after dark, to dispose of his nuclear waste.
He thought it was fun to empty a ton of chemicals into the stream,
And took great delight in showing his spite for Mother Nature's regime.

This little chump used to go to the dump and pick up a whole pile of trash,
Then rented a plane from a sleazy old Dane, tied the junk to the wings with a lash.
When he was airborne he sounded an airhorn then unleashed the trash from the plane;
It sprinkled like snow on the land down below and splattered on rooftops like rain.

Next he got an elastic piece of old plastic and tied the ends to some trees;
The final result was a catapult which Henry could fire off with ease.
Then this little punk launched all kinds of junk right into those peaceful old woods.
The junk flew for miles and landed in piles on the streets of nearby neighborhoods.

Henry bought a boat and set it afloat with a cargo of toxic waste,
Then he blew up that boat with a wireless remote, the fishes were covered in paste.
The sea it turned brown for miles around and the shoreline was caked with muck;
The scene there was grim for no fish could swim, those creatures were all out of luck.

His folks had no clue, if only they knew what their son did when he wasn't home.
In the woods he did go with a barrel in tow full of sticky and bad smelling foam.
In the cool forest hush he pulled out a brush and painted the trees with that stuff;
After this deed, Mother Nature, well she'd decided enough was enough !

The high legislature of her majesty Nature was convened that very same night.
Chief Justice, a satyr who lived in a crater made by a meteorite,
Began the proceeding with a monotone reading of the charges against the child;
The list was so long of all he'd done wrong that the punishment couldn't be mild.

This group was comprised of all manner and size of beasts from all over the planet;
They met in a cavern that was lit like a tavern and was made of limestone and granite.
There on her throne that was made of limestone sat her majesty Nature the Queen;
She was flanked by her priests and below sat the beasts, more creatures than you've ever seen.

There were banshees and bats and shiny black cats and wolves with very sharp teeth;
There were spiders and snakes slithering up from the lakes, slimy creatures from the earth underneath.
There were grizzlies and jackals and a few pterodactyls and Japanese dragons and monkeys,
Wild horses and cattle had come to do battle with their brothers the moose and the donkeys.

There were rats that were mean as those laughing hyenas who also were there at the meeting;
There were squirrels and snails and seagulls and quails and raccoons who couldn't stop eating.
Field mice and groundhogs and rabbits and lapdogs and myna birds, toucans and foxes,
And a band of stray cats sitting next to the rats in one of life's small paradoxes.

Piranhas and satyrs and large alligators, minotaurs, reptiles and sheep,
Lions and sharks and goldfish and larks and turtles that came from the deep.
Coyotes and beavers and golden retrievers, zebras and no that's not all,
A rhinoceros and one albatross and yetis that came from Nepal.

They all took a vote that the best antidote for this problem was to take action.
These beasts were irate and they had a mandate to show Nature's dissatisfaction.
This menacing pack formed a plan of attack, yes they'd put a stop to his fun;
His fate was decided, he'd be more than chided for the dastardly deeds he had done.

As the boy walked back home through the forest alone he was not afraid it would seem;
Yes, this little brat looked just like the cat who'd swallowed all of the cream.
Then there came a low moan like a sad saxophone playing a song about death,
And the woods they turned cold and grew thick with mold, and Henry could see his own breath.

Then he heard a shrill call that made his skin crawl and it pierced through the dark like a knife,
And it called out his name again and again and he started to fear for his life.
Then the ground it did shake and the trees were awake and they snarled at the boy where he stood;
Henry Turner could swear there were eyes everywhere so the kid ran as fast he could.

But he soon did appraise that he was lost in a maze of bushes and tangled vines;
Little Turner was shocked to find his way blocked by an army of mad porcupines.
So then towards north he tried to go forth but a river swelled up in his path;
He tried to repent but these beasts were intent on showing the kid Nature's wrath.

He tried to head west but then was distressed to find his way blocked by some boas;
Well it would appear there were more creatures here then there were in that ark of Noah's.
And they all were mad 'cause Henry'd been bad, this boy needed more than reproaching;
The beasts they moved in to punish his sin, his end seemed to be fast approaching.

The boy was dumfounded for he was surrounded and there was no chance of escape;
For though he was smart there was fear in his heart and he could just stand there and gape.
A bull from a farm grabbed hold of his arm and a serpent grabbed hold of his leg;
A fish covered in paste wrapped round Henry's waist and then Henry started to beg.

"Please spare me O creatures, it's the fault of my teachers, they are the ones to blame;
For I'm innocent but I truly repent for the deeds that have brought me to shame."
Then a group of giraffes really started to laugh and a chorus of laughter ensued;
Then Henry beheld as the lot of them yelled "Who are you trying to delude ?!"

A beast was allowed to move through the crowd and this beast was the satyr Chief Justice.
His face was all red and he stood there and said "Your behavior truly disgusts us.
Although you've got brains you've taken great pains to mess up this Earth where we live;
Punished you'll be for Henry you see there's things that we cannot forgive."

And then through the leaves there blew a soft breeze and there was the Queen in his face;
She looked in his eyes and he couldn't disguise his feeling of utter disgrace.
In her eyes he could see all the damage that he had caused to this beautiful globe;
He was afraid and he knelt down and prayed that he wouldn't be punished like Job.

Then into a storm the Queen did transform for the hour of her vengeance was here.
Henry couldn't hide from the dangerous tide of the creatures as they all drew near.
The forest shook under the lightning and thunder and poor Henry Turner just fainted;
Then flocks of thrushes descended with brushes and the color of green he was painted.

When he awoke it seemed like a joke, it must have been just a bad dream;
The forest was clear and all he could hear was the song of the birds and the stream.
His heart felt great joy for this little boy had fought against Nature and won;
And he skipped along just singing a song and basked in the warmth of the sun.

He whistled a tune on this afternoon and he felt almost lighter than air;
He danced on the ground, he was homeward bound, little Henry hadn't a care.
Thoughts of inventions with super dimensions, he'd all but forgotten his dream;
As he crossed o'er the brook he again had that look of the cat that had eaten the cream.

His folks were both home, his mom on the phone, his father was watching TV;
He rinsed off his shirt which was covered in dirt and ate a few doughnuts with tea.
He went up to bed then his mother said, "Henry Turner, where have you been ?!".
"I've just been out playing" little Henry was saying, "Goodness gracious....Henry....you're green !!!"

Now that the day has faded away
And the sun has set in the west,
I've finished the tale, now I'm off to jail
To lie and catch up on some rest.
The story is done and wasn't it fun ?
But you maybe think it's obscene;
Well I'll tell you my friend, that right to the end
That boy Henry Turner stayed green.