Once upon a time,
Now that’s a term that’s strange;
For once upon a time,
I was a wonder; now I’ve changed.
My kind was once abundant,
But many of us were doomed,
Death was what awaited us,
Some, though, were entombed.
Here I am before you,
A story waiting to be told,
You use me and my type,
To learn of times of old.
Big or small, wild or tame,
Our eras now are done.
Different prisons, but the same world,
You uncover our secrets, one by one.
Now tell me who or what I am,
But if for an answer, you give a shrug,
One last hint I give you:
What creatures could never hug?