Sneaky little, cheeky little, squeaky little gremlins,
Meddling with machinery and tinkering with tyres,
Slipping through the pipework and ratcheting the ratchets,
Winding and unwinding and then twisting up the wires.
Naughty little gremlins, what have they been doing?
Fastenings need fixing, things don’t do what they should,
Send for the mechanics (though they’ve been here twice this morning),
We’re sure that it’s the gremlins and they’re all up to no good!
Author’s note: Gremlins are imaginary creatures that were invented in the early 20th century as a funny explanation for an unexpected mechanical problem with an aeroplane. These days they are used for any machine or piece of technology where a glitch happens for no obvious reason.
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Annelies Judson writes books and poetry for children, among other things. Her many loves include cooking, cricket, science and the em-dash. Her first picture book, Turkey Hurly-Burly, was released in 2025.
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