Meere bugge-beares to scare boyes

“Childe, stray not across the sunlit path
Into the the forest bleak, damp and dark:
For that is where
Lives the dreaded Bugbear.

“The Bugbear is not wiry and small,
As are other goblins, but rather tall
And built like a bear,
A goblin quite fantastically rare,

“With great hairy hands that could rip
Off your face, huge teeth not just to nip
But to gnaw and chew and tear
Your head from your hair.

“So, childe, keep away from the woods,
Or you will be nothing but snack food
For the fearsome Bugbear
That lives over there.”

That’s what I told him, that’s what I said
And he believed me just like the books that he’s read.
Still I’d rather he believed a lie
Than trip.  And fall.  And die.