Deep in the Desert by Donna M. Bateman

Deep in the desert, in the warm morning sun, Lived a mother road runner and her little runner One. “Run!” said the mother. “I run,” said the One. So they played and they ran in the warm morning sun.

Deep in the desert, where the cactus grew, Lived a mother kangaroo and her little jumpers Two. “Jump!” said the mother. “We jump,” said the Two. So they jumped through the deserts where the cactus grew.

Deep in the desert, by a hollow Joshua tree, Lived a mother camel and her little walkers Three. “Walk!” trilled the mother. “We walk,” trilled the Three. So they walked proud and long by their hollow Joshua tree.

Deep in the desert, in a core on the shore, Lived a mother wasp and her little wasps Four. “Fly!” said the mother. “We fly,” said the Four. So they flew all day long in their core on the shore.

Deep in the desert, where the insects thrive. Lived a mother scorpion and her little scorpions Five. “Sting!” said the mother. “We sting,” said the Five. So they stung in the sun where the insects thrive.

Deep in the desert, in a nest built of sticks, Lived a mother cobra and he little cobras Six. “Hiss!” said the mother. “We hiss,” said the Six. So they hissed through the sky near their nest built of sticks.

Deep in the desert, where the saguaro reach to heaven, Lived a mother coyote and her little howlers Seven. “Howl!” said the mother. “We howl,” said the Seven. So they howled, where the saguaro reach to heaven.

Deep in the desert, where the hawks flew straight. Lived a mother rat and her little rats Eight. “Squeal!” said the mother. “We squeal,” said the Eight. So they squealed through the deserts where the hawks flew straight.

Deep in the desert, where the cactus spines twine, Lived a mother grasshopper and her little hoppers Nine. “Hop!” said the mother. “We hop,” said the Nine. So they hopped up a pine where the cactus spines twine.

Deep in the desert, in an under rock den, Lived a mother lizard and her little lizard Ten. “Slither!” said the mother. “We slither,” said the Ten. So they slithered after insects near their under rock den.