The Callahan Twins

By Ernestine Cobern Beyer


Teddy and Freddy, the Callahan twins.
Were exactly alike from their toes to their chins.
They were so much alike from the time they were tots,
That when Ted had the measles, his twin had the spots!

Not even their mother could tell them apart,
And so, being very resourceful and smart,
She used common sense (and a needle and thread)
And labeled their jackets with "TEDDY" and "FRED."

This worked like a charm until Teddy, one day,
Said: "Freddy, I've thought of a trick we can play!
I can pretend to be you, Fred, you see,
And you, Freddy-boy, can pretend to be me!
We'll simply swap jackets! Gee! Won't it be fun?
Today, you and I, Fred, will fool everyone!"

As soon as this entered their little red heads,
Ted put on Fred's coat—and Fred put on Ted's.
Their mother, poor thing, was confused by this switch!
Now, being unable to tell which was which,
She thought that young Teddy was Freddy, of course,
So she took him that morning to see Dr. Morse.

As the doctor came forward to give him a shot,
Ted cried: "I'm not Freddy, Doc! Honest I'm not!"
But the doctor just grinned at unfortunate Ted,
And plunged in the needle intended for Fred.

Next, thinking that Freddy was Teddy, his mother
Left Teddy at home and escorted his brother
To see Dr. Yankem, a dentist nearby.
Fred looked at the man with alarm in his eye,
And viewing the forceps the good doctor held,
"Doc, I'm not Teddy! I'm Freddy!" he yelled.

But the dentist, a man very clever and able,
Glanced at Fred's jacket, and seeing the label,
He thought he was Teddy, and tightened his clutch.
"Stop fooling!" he said. "This won't hurt . . . very much!"

Later, that evening, the Callahan twins
Managed two sheepish, identical grins.
"I had your shot, Fred!" Ted ruefully sighed.
"I had your tooth out!" his brother replied.
Then, chuckling, Ted stated: "We caused all the fuss--
But it seems to me, Freddy, the joke is on us!"

From the upcoming book for children:

Awesome Adventures,

by Barbara Beyer Malley