Amazin' Amazon Mystery Animals

Mystery Animal #15: Happy to Be Me

When I was a kid I was terribly timid
                         And the cause was as plain as the nose on my head
                                                                    I was simply ashamed of
                                                                           the way I  appeared
                                                                  I should have been cheerful
                                                                         Was woeful instead

 
                                                                You see the root of my shame
                        Protruded quite flagrantly right from the front of my face
                                                                    I should have been proud
                                                                   To stand out in the crowd
                                                                     But rather felt a disgrace
 
                                                                      To escape my dishonor
                    I'd dream of new schnozzers that I could replace for my own
                                                                     I should have been glad
                                                                         For the profile I had
                                                                  But coveted others unknown
 
If I were an elephant, went my reverie
I'd carry my cannon with clout
Or if I were a pig or a peccary
I'd bulldoze the forest with my power-packed snout
If I were a toucan, brilliant and bold
I'd flash my colors till red seemed green
If I were a long-proboscised mole
I'd tunnel the dirt till the dirt was clean
If I were a platypus, shore to shore
I'd pick up treasures with my bill
If I were a croc I'd just open my door
And food would enter as I lay still
If I were a hornbill I'd holler and hoot
And annoy the world with my singing
And if I were a mosquito with my needle-like snoot
I'd wake everyone with my stinging
 
Ah, but....
Time passes; days go by; reality hits and those silly dreams die
And as we get older, and a little more wise
Sooner or later we realize
We're not so bad the way we are
And maybe the others
thought we were the star
 
So, now I'm proud of my inheritance
I'm content to go swimming in swamps
I'm happy to munch on aquatic plants
I'm not overweight, I'm merely staunch!
I like my short legs and tri-hoofed feet
And I'm especially proud of my nose
I feel that my stub-tail is really quite neat
And I'm delighted to have odd-numbered toes
I even accept the hump on my nape
And have grown to appreciate my uneven physique
I may have learned my lesson late
But now I'm proud because I'm unique.
Can you guess who I am?
 
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