of mess
And only a master of dishwash-i-ness

Could possibly clean such a strange gucky muck
And no everyday bubble would have any luck

That's when they call in the world's greatest cleaner
She's a little pink bubble, as you know if you've seen her.

She studies the stain and she tests out the dirt
She doesn't use water, not even a squirt

Before you can blink she has cleaned it all up
It's not on the pots, or the forks, or the cups

She cleans the whole place, in a short little while
She can't help herself, it is kind of her style

And then comes the part that the bubbles like least
When the dishes are clean for their next messy feast

And the water shuts off and the steam starts to fade
And the bubbles slide off in a farewell parade

Soon they'll be needed to scrub up more food
And more dirty dishes will lighten their mood

IX

HOW THE FIREFLY GOT ITS LIGHT

Back in the days before the days, the sun and the moon were always
in the sky. There was no nighttime, and there was no daytime. The
sun and moon were quite content in the sky together.

After a while, the animals called to the sun and the moon and asked
them to come listen for a moment. The Moon came swooping down and
was followed by the sun.

"We do not know when to start sleeping," said the elephant to the
moon, "because you are always so full in the sky."

"And we do not know when to wake," said the zebra to the sun,
"because you are always out and never rising."

All but the sleepy-headed dulfly were there to complain. The
sleepy-headed dulfly looked like a firefly, but he did not glow in
anyway like you are used to. His body was dark and dull and all
together boring.

The sun, because he was always a little brighter than the moon,
thought hard about what to do. "I will stay in the sky half of the
time," said the sun," and the moon will stay in the sky when I am
not so that you may know when to sleep. But one of you will have to
signal when it is time for us to switch, for that is how these
things are done, and otherwise we will not know."

"It cannot be me," said the lion, "I am far too busy tending to the
plains."

"It cannot be me," said the monkey, "I am far too busy picking fruit
from the trees."

One by one, all the animals explained why they could not possibly be
the one to help the moon and the sun. One by one, until only the
sleepy-headed dulfly remained.

"Wake up dulfly!" yelled the sun.

"Why do you bother