Once there lived a little monster
In a kingdom far away.
And a very strange thing happened
As he brushed his teeth one day.

As he squeezed his tube of toothpaste,
Deepest thunder shook the skies.
And suddenly a genie stood
Before his very eyes.

"I'm the genie of the toothpaste,"
Said the genie with a laugh.
"I've been trapped inside that toothpaste tube
For 3 weeks and a half.
You squeezed the tube and set me free
So here is what I'll do -
I'll let you have 3 wishes
And I'll make them all come true."

"Oh boy!" exclaimed the monster,
"Wow! 3 wishes just for me!
Now let me think and then decide
What my first wish will be."

Now my favorite thing is cookies,
Thought the monster with a grin.
But first I'll wish for something nice
To keep my cookies in.
I would like a million cookies,
But before I use that wish ...

"Hey, Genie," said the monster,
"Will you please bring me a dish?"

"Will I ever!" said the genie,
"For your wish is my command."
And instantly a dish appeared
Right in the monster's hand.

"Hey, I did it!" cried the genie.
"Wow! I haven't lost my touch!"
"It's a nice dish," said the monster,
"But it won't hold very much."

The monster thought of all the cookies
That he'd soon get with his wish.
And he knew a million cookies
Couldn't fit on one small dish.

He would need something much bigger.
So the monster said, "Hey, Genie!
I would like a great big box ...
This plate is much too teeny!"

"You want a box? You've got it,"
Said the genie with a smirk.
And instantly a box appeared.
The monster cried, "Nice work!"

But although the box was pretty big
And could hold lots of stuff -
Could it hold a million cookies ...?
It just wasn't big enough.

So the monster called the genie
And said, "Boy, am I in luck!
Since you'll give me what I wish for ...
How about a great big truck?"

And right away a truck appeared
Before the monster's eyes.
"Fantastic!" cried the monster.
"It is just the perfect size!"

"It will hold a million cookies,
And I'll never have to worry.
And that is what I wish for!
Give me cookies now! Please hurry!"

"I am sorry," said the genie,
"For though cookies are delicious,
I cannot give them to you
'Cause you've used up your 3 wishes." (love that rhyme!)

"Oh, no!" exclaimed the monster.
"is it true? I just can't tell.
For although I'm good at eating things,
I do not count so well."

"Let us count these things together,"
Said the genie, "and you'll see -
The dish is 1, the box is 2,
And then the truck makes 3."
"3 things! You're right," the monster said,
"Now what am I to do?
I've used up my 3 wishes
And I'm very hungry, too!"

"Gee, that's too bad," the genie said,
"But now my job's complete."
"I'm so hungry," said the monster,
"Oh, I need something to eat!"

"I'm sad your wish for cookies
Can't come true," the genie said.
"That's okay," replied the monster ...
" ... I'll just eat the truck instead!"

And as the monster ate the truck,
The genie disappeared,
Saying, "I have seen a lot of things -
But boy ... is that guy weird!"