Caps for Sale

Bought my grandkids Caps for Sale
And checked when it was written - 
Back in 1940! Still,
The story has me smitten.

A peddler cannot sell the caps
He carries on his head
And so he takes a nap beneath
A giant tree instead.

On waking, all the caps are gone
But way up in the tree
A monkey's perched on every branch
And guess what we can see?

On each one's head there is a cap
Which he will not surrender.
The peddler, in frustration,
Leads us to the happy ender.

He shakes his fists and stamps his feet,
The monkeys imitating,
Then throws his own cap on the ground
And without hesitating,

The simians all follow suit
So all the caps come falling.
The peddler piles them on his head
And keeps on with his calling:

"Caps for sale! For 50 cents!"
The guy gets props for trying.
The story leaves us with a smile
(Though no one still is buying).