Once upon a time on a ship at sea,
The skipper said "Listen up, let me see,
A sitrep from sickbay, is all well and good?
Or do we have problems in this neighbourhood?"

A crewmate replied "I'm afraid to say,
A skunk got on board and won't go away!
We tried to sheave it off with a rope,
But it sprayed us all and we couldn't cope."

The skipper sighed and thought for a bit,
"We need a plan, this is not a fit!
Let's use semaphore to signal for aid,
We can't have a skunk on board, afraid."

They hoisted the flags and waited awhile,
Till a rescue ship arrived in style.
The skunk was caught and taken away,
The crew was relieved and could finally say,

"We're free from the stink and the shackles of fear,
Thanks to the skipper and his crew, so dear.
We're back on track, sailing the sea,
Happy and safe, as we were meant to be."

Reflections

1. What do you think the crew could have done differently to avoid the skunk getting on board?
2. How do you think the crew felt when the skunk sprayed them?
3. Do you think it was a good idea for the crew to use semaphore to signal for help? Why or why not?
4. What would you have done if you were the skipper in this situation?
5. How do you think the crew felt once the skunk was taken away and they could continue on their journey?