Doctor Sue Block
Sat on a rock
Eating some rice she had cooked.
Along came a spider
And sat down beside her.
The doctor made notes in her book.

Doctor Ben Gump
Sat on a stump
Eating some peanuts he had.
Along came a worm...
a-squiggle, a-squirm...
Gump made a note on a pad.

Doctor Sue Block
Sat on a rock
Eating some whey and some curds.
Along came a fly
A-bizzling by.
The doctor wrote down a few words.

Doctor Ben Gump
Sat on a stump
Eating some cream cheese and capers.
Along came a bee
And sat on his knee.
The doctor made notes on his papers.

Doctor Sue Block
Sat on a rock
Eating some soup in a pot.
Along came a moth
And tasted her broth.
Block made a note - jot... jot... jot...

Doctor Ben Gump
Sat on a stump
Eating a plate of beef stew.
Along came a flea
Who bothered the bee.
Here's the drawing that Doctor Ben drew.

Doctor Sue Block
Sat on a rock
Eating a peach and a pear.
Along came a bug
To give her a hug,
And she noted it down with great care.

Doctor Ben Gump
Sat on a stump
Eating some chewy, green candy.
Along came a gnat
And sat on his hat.
Thank goodness Ben's pencil was handy!

Doctor Sue Block
Sat on a rock
Eating a bowl of rolled oats.
Along came some ants
And did an ant dance.
And the doctor made a few notes.

Doctor Ben Gump
Sat on a stump
Taking a bite now and then.
Along came a mite
And gave him a fright.
But he made some notes with his pen.
Doctor Sue sat by Gump
Where he sat on his stump,
And offered her apple to share.

[page...]

Along came a worm,
and a flea
and a mite
and a bee
and a spider
and a gnat
and an ant
and a moth
and a bug
and a fly...
And sat down nearby.

[page...]

But no one seemed really to care.

[The final double page spread will show all the bugs drawn in the style of the doctors' notebooks. Several will have word balloons over their heads and they will be saying: "They're kissing ! Gross!" "Yuck!" "Don't look!" "I hate that mushy stuff!" "Ewwww! Kissing!" "Icky!"]

[Each of the first ten double page spreads will have the rhyme and a small colour spot on the left hand page and on the right hand page a drawing as it would appear in the doctor's notebook - a rough drawing with labels indicating things like wings, number of legs, body parts, compound eyes, etc. The illustration for "Along came a worm and a flea and a mite and a bee..." will show all the bugs in colour in the artist's style (as opposed to the doctors' notebook style). The illustration accompanying "But no one seemed really to care." will show the two bug doctors oblivious to everything except each other. And as noted, the final spread will show the bugs in the notebook style we saw on each right hand page earlier in the book.]

RICHARD THOMPSONTHE STORY VINE