Columbus sailed over the ocean blue
To find the United States.
In three small ships he carried his crew,
And none of the three were mates.
He found a land in the western seas,
And Indians galore,
With jabbering parrots in the trees,
And sharks along the shore.
He filled his pockets with sparkling stones
And took to the mighty main,
With a couple of slaves, some nuts and cones
For the glorious king of Spain.
Now this is the tale Columbus told,
And most of the tale is true,
How he crossed the seas, a sailor bold,
In fourteen-ninety-two.
Leroy F. Jackson
