'The Common Cormorant'

'The Common Cormorant', an illustration by JVL in The Song that Sings the Bird; 

Poems for Young Children, chosen by Ruth Craft, Collins, 1989, page 59.

The Common Cormorant or shag

Lays eggs inside a paper bag

The reason you will see no doubt

It is to keep the lightning out.

But what these unobservant birds

Have never noticed is that herds

Of wandering bears may come with buns

And steal the bags to hold the crumbs.

This poem has often been attributed to that ubiquitous creative person known as 'Anon' but 

Christopher Isherwood's name has sometimes been put forward as the creator of this magnificent poem.