09
TOMMY TRIMBLE

Billy be nimble,

Hurry and see

Old Tommy Trimble

Climbing a tree.

He claws with his fingers

And digs with his toes.

The longer he lingers

The slower he goes.

[NOTES] This rhyme is telling a boy named Billy to come see an old man named Tommy Trimble who is going up a tree.

nimble—quick and smart

claws—uses the nails on his fingers to hold on to the tree

digs—uses the nails on his toes to hold on to the tree

to linger—to stay or to wait