snail hunting

tonight we hunt the rarest of snails,
who shies from the rays of the sun.
i warn you to breathe softly, my friend,
lest he hear you coming and run!

though i've traveled the world a hundred times,
i have never yet glimpsed a one.
i warn you to breathe quietly, my friend,
lest he hear you coming and run!

i have heard in the orient his trumpeting call,
floating by on the ocean breeze.
i warn you to tread slowly, my friend,
lest he hear your footsteps and flee!

i have seen his great teeth-marks dug into the bark
of african rainforest trees.
i warn you to tread lightly, my friend,
lest he hear your footsteps and flee!

he watches the night like a vigilant owl
and creeps like a panther black.
i warn you to stay low, my friend,
lest he hear you move, and attack!

he is leviathan, behemoth, and yet
leaves no slimy snail-foot track.
i warn you to stay still, my friend,
lest he hear you move, and attack!

the ichthyosaurs have all gone extinct,
the ammonites no longer survive;
i warn you to hide well, my friend,
lest you catch his rubber-stalked eye!

but in the darkest jungles all o'er the world,
still this monstrous creature thrives.
i warn you to take care, my friend,
lest he jump out and eat you alive!