MORRIS TELLS BORIS MOTHER MOOSE STORIES AND RHYMES

Morris the moose puts himself to sleep--or to sheep, as friend Boris has it after a verbal runaround with Little Bo-Peep--but the Mother Moose bedtime stories elicit only protests and corrections from Boris the bear. Morris' tale of the four bears--Papa, Mama, Baby, and Boris--is abandoned shortly after Goldi-locks' arrival; and what with Boris' reminders that a moose can't run up the clock or lay a golden egg, none of the other stories get off the ground. Unlike previous Morris and Boris exchanges, this one revolves less on Boris' failure to catch on than on Morris' failure to amuse him with his feeble word play. Kids in the same punchy state might succumb to the slap-happy mixups; most will concede that Morris can indeed lay an egg.