Collie was a big white flower.
She was beautiful but vain.
She lived way back in the jungle
Where there was lots of sun and rain.

The white dress that nature gave her
Had petals so big and bright.
She wore it in the bright sunshine
And folded it up neat at night.

When others came along her path,
Miss Collie always liked to say,
“Don’t you think I’m really pretty?
How do you think I look today?”

Now both the lions and the tigers
All thought that she looked really great.
They would stop by to admire her
Even when they were running late.

The buffaloes and the hippos,
Who also thought her beauty neat,
Always tried to be so careful
Of where they put their heavy feet.

And the little bunnies also,
Would always stop just to admire,
Attention for which young Collie
Had never seemed at all to tire.

Then great big Mr. Elephant
Came strolling by one sunny day.
Collie spread her large white petals
To see what Elephant would say.

She said, “Aren’t my green leaves pretty
And aren’t my petals big and bright?”
The elephant never even noticed
Up there from his lofty height.

Of course poor Collie couldn’t move,
When she looked up with fear and dread,
A big foot the size of Texas
Was coming down upon her head.

So Collie’s pretty petals,
Before, a snow white party dress,
Could no longer be called pretty
But were a white and lumpy mess.

Now Collie still stands there and brags,
Undaunted by her awful fate,
She says she’s full of vitamins
And that her taste is really great.

When Mom goes to the grocery store,
And it seems to take her hours?
While she’s picking out tomatoes
Go admire the cauliflowers.

The Story of Collie Flower is a story that I made up to get my reluctant kids to eat cauliflower. It worked so well that all four of them still like it today. I don’t have a lot to say about the poem except that I didn’t have to change it very much to put it in poem format. Vegetables are important for kids. Of course, if you don’t like cauliflower you probably won’t be too successful using this story on your kids.