A doctor rolls up in his two-wheel cart carrying a strange treasure: a box that opens to reveal a bow-legged little boy. Everyone who sees him immediately bursts into a chorus of affection, calling him cute, funny, and dear. His pants have to be cut with a circular saw to accommodate his unusual shape, and this only makes his way of moving more noticeable—so much so that strangers can’t help but echo the same delighted cry. He’s given a bicycle and tears off with his eyes blazing, laughing loud and pedaling fiercely, filling the world with a contagious happiness. The speaker is so captivated by this scene that he ends by half-jokingly confessing a wish: if the doctor ever comes his way, he’ll ask for a bow-leg boy of his own. The whole poem feels like a warm, playful chant, turning a physical difference into a gift that keeps spreading joy.
The bow-leg boy — Summary
Who should come up the road one day But the doctor-man in his two-wheel shay! And he whoaed his horse and he cried "Ahoy! I have brought you folks a bow-leg boy! Such a cute little boy! Such a funny little boy! Such a dear little bow-leg boy!"
He took out his box and he opened it wide, And there was the bow-leg boy inside! And when they saw that cunning little mite, They cried in a chorus expressive of delight: "What a cute little boy! What a funny little boy! What a dear little bow-leg boy!"
Observing a strict geometrical law, They cut out his panties with a circular saw; Which gave such a stress to his oval stride That the people he met invariably cried: "What a cute little boy! What a funny little boy! What a dear little bow-leg boy!"
They gave him a wheel and away he went Speeding along to his heart's content; And he sits so straight and he pedals so strong That the folks all say as he bowls along: "What a cute little boy! What a funny little boy! What a dear little bow-leg boy!"
With his eyes aflame and his cheeks aglow, He laughs "aha" and he laughs "oho"; And the world is filled and thrilled with the joy Of that jolly little human, the bow-leg boy-- The cute little boy! The funny little boy! The dear little bow-leg boy!
If ever the doctor-man comes my way With his wonderful box in his two-wheel shay, I 'll ask for the treasure I'd fain possess-- Now, honest Injun! can't you guess? Why, a cute little boy-- A funny little boy-- A dear little bow-leg boy!