You Can Call Me Cuddles

You Can Call Me Cuddles

My ears are small.

My nose is wide.

I have squinty eyes,

big webbed toes,

and wiry-bristled sides.

My cousin is a guinea pig,

but I'm MUCH bigger than he.

My body's like a barrel.

There's no bigger rodent than me!

I lay around on the ground

and eat lots of grass and fruit. 

I whistle, squeal, and squeak,

and though YOU may not think I'm cute,

the Mrs. thinks I am.

In fact she's in love with me.

She calls me her Old Whiskery Ham,

and I call her my Dear Sweet Pea.

When I saw this Capybara at the zoo, I recoiled a little, shuddering and thinking about how much it seemed like a giant rat. Right after I snapped the picture above, a little girl who was maybe four or five years old came up, saw the animal, and squealed, "Oh, he's sooo CUTE! I wish I could have him as a pet!"  Her mother and I exchanged amused glances. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.