I Fell on My Sneeze

I fell on my sneeze. For some obscure reason, I said that to myself after putting my hands of my knees for two consecutive big sneezes. (I usually put my hands on my knees as a good stabilizer for my back during cataclysmic sneezes, which can send people running for cover.)

And then I began to think of and sing this song, or at least a version of it, from my elementary school days.

Wikipedia's Lyrics

I went to the animal fair,
The birds and the beasts were there;
The little raccoon by the light of the moon
Was combing his auburn hair.
The monkey he got drunk
And sat on the elephant's trunk,
The elephant sneezed and went down on his knees
And what become of the monk?

Those Wiki lyrics weren't exactly the words that I learned back in elementary school, but they are close. My raccoon was old and a she. Well, why I don't rewrite the whole piece as I remember it?

I went to the animal fair,
The birds and the beasts were there
The old raccoon by the light of the moon
Was combing her auburn hair.
The funniest sight was da monk
It climbed up the elephant's trunk.
The elephant sneezed and fell on its knees
But what become of da monk?
Da monk da monk da monk da monk
But what because of da monk?

Those last two lines were great fun.

There is an alternative version by Tex Ritter and others in which  "that was the end of the monk" rather than "what became of the monk," which is the way that we sang it, and as far as I can tell was also the original lyrics.

I sang that at least 60 years ago, but I remember the tune, and I think I have close to the words of the version that I learned.

I find this memory just a little synchrodipitous that this occurred almost immediately after posting my previous piece about memory.