Ernie the Elevator
Once upon a time there was an elevator called Ernie.
He lived in a little seaside village hotel in Florida.
He had lived there for a long time.
Since he was old now
Ernie had a habit of going 'groan'
whenever he opened his door.
He also had a habit of going 'groan'
whenever he closed his door.
Time went on.
Ernie saw a lot of things change
In his neighborhood.
Sometimes very rich people came
Sometimes very poor.
Sometimes everybody would be very old.
Sometimes everybody was very young.
Sometimes there would be a lot of people
From far-away countries.
One sunny summer day
Ernie was just doing his job
Taking people up up up
And taking people down down down.
Suddenly two men came running
into the elevator with a shaggy brown dog.
The dog looked scared.
Ernie was scared too.
The men got off on the second floor.
Ernie was just an elevator
So he couldn't follow them
Or see what would happen to the dog.
In the middle of the night
Ernie felt a cold nose
Push the button to open his door.
It was the shaggy brown dog.
Ernie opened the door right away.
He said 'groan.'
The dog said 'yelp.'
Ernie brought the dog down to the first floor
And quickly opened the door
With another 'groan.'
The shaggy brown dog ran outside and down the street.
A little while later the two men
Came to get in the elevator.
Ernie let them in with a 'groan.'
But when they got to the first floor
Ernie pretended to be stuck
And would not open the door.
The men cursed and beat
On the sides of the elevator.
Sure it hurt
but Ernie didn't want those bad men
To catch that nice shaggy brown dog.
People heard the noise in the elevator
And called the police.
When the police opened the elevator
They recognized the two men
Who were some dognappers
They had been looking for.
The shaggy brown dog turned out to be called Tazz.
(grandparents, use the name of a family pet).
He belonged to two nice children called Manny and Dean
(grandparents, insert the names of your own grandkids).
They were so happy when he showed up on their doorstep
After escaping from the dognappers.
Tazz took the children to the building
Where Ernie the Elevator lived.
When the children heard how brave Ernie had been
To hold the crooks
They thanked him from the bottom of their hearts.
Ernie said 'groan' which now meant 'thank you.'
Tazz said 'yelp' which now meant 'hooray.'
The children said 'hooray,'
which really meant 'hooray,' too.
Isn't it nice to know that little children and dogs
Can talk to an elevator
And that an elevator like Ernie
Can help solve a crime
Even if he is old and groans a lot.
