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diff --git a/10294-0.txt b/10294-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2feb4fa --- /dev/null +++ b/10294-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2948 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10294 *** + +VERSE AND PROSE + +FOR + +BEGINNERS IN READING + + + + + +_SELECTED FROM ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE_ + +1893 + + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The attentive reader of this little book will be apt to notice very soon +that though its title is _Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading_, +the verse occupies nine tenths, the prose being confined to about two +hundred proverbs and familiar sayings--some of them, indeed, in +rhyme--scattered in groups throughout the book. The reason for this will +be apparent as soon as one considers the end in view in the preparation +of this compilation. + +The _Riverside Primer and Reader_, as stated in its Introduction, "is +designed to serve as the sole text-book in reading required by a pupil. +When he has mastered it he is ready to make the acquaintance of the +world's literature in the English tongue." In that book, therefore, the +pupil was led by easy exercises to an intelligent reading of pieces of +literature, both verse and prose, so that he might become in a slight +degree familiar with literature before he parted with his sole +text-book. But the largest space had, of necessity, to be given to +practice work, which led straight to literature, indeed, though to a +small quantity only. The verse offered in that book was drawn from +nursery rhymes and from a few of the great masters of poetical form; the +prose was furnished by a selection of proverbs, some of the simplest +folk stories, and two passages, closing the book, from the Old and New +Testaments. + +The pupil, upon laying down his _Primer and Reader_ and proposing to +enter the promised land of literature, could find a volume of prose +consisting of _Fables and Folk Stories_, into the pleasures of which he +had already been initiated; but until now he could find no volume of +poetry especially prepared for him which should fulfill the promise of +the verse offered to him in his _Primer and Reader_. Be it remembered +that he was not so much to read verse written expressly for him, as to +overhear the great poets when they sang so simply, so directly, and yet +with so penetrating a note that the burden of their song, full, it may +be, to the child's elders, would have an awakening power for the child +himself. As so often said, a child can receive and delight in a poem +through the ear long before he is able to attain the same pleasure +through the eye; and there are many poems in such a book, for example, +as Miss Agnes Repplier's _A Book of Famous Verse_, wholly delightful for +a child to listen to which yet it would be impossible for him to read to +himself. + +The agreeable task of the editor, therefore, was to search English and +American literature for those poems which had fallen from the lips of +poets with so sweet a cadence and in such simple notes that they would +offer but slight difficulties to a child who had mastered the rudiments +of reading. It was by no means necessary that such poems should have had +an audience of children in mind nor have taken childhood for a subject, +though it was natural that a few of the verses should prove to be +suggested by some aspect of child-life. The selection must be its own +advocate, but it may be worth while to point out that the plan of the +book supposes an easy approach to the more serious poems by means of the +light ditties of the nursery; that there is no more reason for depriving +a child of honest fun in his verse than there is for condemning the +child's elders to grave poetry exclusively; and that it is not necessary +or even desirable for a poem to come at once within the reader's +comprehension. To take an extreme case, Tennyson's lines "Break, Break, +Break!" would no doubt be ruled out of such a book as this by many in +sympathy with children; yet the unexplainable power of the poem is not +beyond the apprehension of sensitive natures at an early age. + +The contents have been gleaned from a number of sources, and the editor +is glad to mingle with the names of the secure dwellers on Parnassus +those of some living Americans and Englishmen. He does not pretend that +he has made an exhaustive collection, but he hopes the book may be +regarded as the nucleus for an anthology which cannot, in the nature of +things, be very large. + +The prose, as already intimated, is confined to groups of proverbs and +familiar sayings. In one aspect these single lines of prose present +difficulties to the young reader: they are condensed forms of +expression, even though the words may be simple; but they offer the +convenient small change of intellectual currency which it is well for +one to be supplied with at an early stage of one's journey, and they +afford to the teacher a capital opportunity for conversational and other +exercises. + +The order of this book is in a general way from the easy to the more +difficult, with an attempt, also, at an agreeable variety. The editor +has purposely avoided breaking up the book into lesson portions or +giving it the air of a text-book. There is no reason why children should +not read books as older people read them, for pleasure, and dissociate +them from a too persistent notion of tasks. It is entirely possible that +some teachers may find it out of the question to lead their classes +straight through this book, but there is nothing to forbid them from +judicious skipping, or, what is perhaps more to the point, from helping +pupils over a difficult word or phrase when it is encountered; the +interest which the child takes will carry him over most hard places. It +would be a capital use of the book also if teachers were to draw upon it +for poems which their pupils should, in the suggestive phrase, learn by +heart. To this purpose the contents are singularly well adapted; for, +from the single line proverb to a poem by Wordsworth, there is +such a wide range of choice that the teacher need not resort to the +questionable device of giving children fragments and bits of verse and +prose to commit to memory. One of the greatest services we can do the +young mind is to accustom it to the perception of _wholes_, and whether +this whole be a lyric or a narrative poem like Evangeline, it is almost +equally important that the young reader should learn to hold it as such +in his mind. To treat a poem as a mere quarry out of which a +particularly smooth stone can be chipped is to misinterpret poetry. A +poem is a statue, not a quarry. + +H.E.S. + +BOSTON, _October_, 1893. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +ALPHABET _Mother Goose_ + +A DEWDROP _Frank Dempster Sherman_ + +BEES _Frank Dempster Sherman_ + +RHYMES. + Baa, baa, black sheep + Bless you, bless you, burnie bee + Bow, wow, wow + Bye, baby bunting _Mother Goose_ + +STAR LIGHT _Unknown_ + +THE LITTLE MOON _A.B. White_ + +TO A HONEY-BEE _Alice Gary_ + +RHYMES. + A cat came fiddling + A dillar, a dollar + As I was going to St. Ives + As I was going up Pippen Hill + A swarm of bees in May _Mother Goose_ + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS + +NONSENSE ALPHABET _Edward Lear_ + +THE EGG IN THE NEST _Unknown_ + +RHYMES + Hey! diddle diddle + Pussy sits beside the fire + Ding dong bell _Mother Goose_ + +DAISIES _Frank Dempster Sherman_ + +SPINNING TOP _Frank Dempster Sherman_ + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS + +RHYMES. + Bobby Shafto's gone to sea + Every lady in this land + Great A, little a + Hark, hark + Sing a song of sixpence + Hickory, dickory dock + Hot-cross buns! + How does my lady's garden grow? + Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall + Hush-a-bye, baby, on the tree-top + Some little mice sat in a barn to spin + If all the world were apple-pie + If wishes were horses + I have a little sister _Mother Goose_ +WHO STOLE THE BIRD'S NEST? _Lydia Maria Child_ +RHYMES. + I saw a ship a-sailing + Jack and Jill went up the hill + Little Bo-peep + Little boy blue + Little girl, little girl + Little Jack Horner sat in the corner + Little Johnny Pringle had a little pig + Little Miss Muffet + There was a little man + Little Tommy Tacker _Mother Goose_ +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS +HAPPY THOUGHT _Robert Louis Stevenson_ +THE SUN'S TRAVELS _Robert Louis Stevenson_ +MY BED IS A BOAT _Robert Louis Stevenson_ +THE SWING _Robert Louis Stevenson_ +RHYMES + Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John + Mistress Mary, quite contrary + Old King Cole + Old Mother Hubbard _Mother Goose_ +RUNAWAY BROOK _Eliza Lee Fallen_ +BED IN SUMMER _Robert Louis Stevenson_ +AT THE SEASIDE _Robert Louis Stevenson_ +THE MEETING OF THE SHIPS _Thomas Moore_ +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS + Three little kittens + Once I saw a little bird + One misty, moisty morning + Peter Piper + Ride a cock-horse to Banbury-cross + Three wise men of Gotham + See, saw, sacradown + Simple Simon met a pieman _Mother Goose_ + +PRETTY COW _Jane Taylor_ + +THE STAR _Jane Taylor_ + +MARY'S LAMB _Sara Josepha Hale_ + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS + +RHYMES + Solomon Grundy + The King of France + The man in the wilderness + There was a crooked man + Tom, Tom, the piper's son + There was a little boy + There was a man of our town + This pig went to market + Tom, Tom, of Islington _Mother Goose_ + +WEE WILLIE WINKIE _William Miller_ + +SINGING _Robert Louis Stevenson_ + +THE COW _Robert Louis Stevenson_ + +GOOD-NIGHT AND GOOD-MORNING _Richard Monckton Milnes_ + +MOTHER'S EYES _Mary D.B.Hull_ + +THE LAND OF NOD _Robert Louis Stevenson_ + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS + +RHYMES + When I was a little boy + Where are you going, my pretty maid? + Who killed Cock Robin _Mother Goose_ + +EPITAPH FOR ROBIN REDBREAST _Edith Matilda Thomas_ + +PLAY WITH ME _Edith Matilda Thomas_ + +THE PIPER _William Blake_ + +INFANT JOY _William Blake_ + +THE LAMB _William Blake_ + +THE LITTLE BOY LOST _William Blake_ + +THE LITTLE BOY FOUND _William Blake_ + +ON THE VOWELS _Jonathan Swift_ + +LETTERS _Ralph Waldo Emerson_ + +ON A CIRCLE _Jonathan Swift_ + +ARIEL'S SONG _William Shakespeare_ + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS + +SONG _Thomas Hood_ + +YOUTH AND AGE _Thomas Hood_ + +UPON SUSANNA'S FEET _Robert Herrick_ + +UPON A CHILD THAT DIED _Robert Herrick_ + +CHERRY-RIPE _Robert Herrick_ + +ANSWER TO A CHILD'S QUESTION _Samuel Taylor Coleridge_ + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS + +"ONE, TWO, THREE!" _Henry Cuyler Bunner_ + +THE BIRD AND ITS NEST _Alfred Tennyson_ + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS + +WINDY NIGHTS _Robert Louis Stevenson_ + +NONSENSE VERSES _Edward Lear_ + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS + +SONG _Robert Burns_ + +SWEET AND LOW _Alfred Tennyson_ + +AGAINST IDLENESS AND MISCHIEF _Isaac Watts_ + +"BREAK, BREAK, BREAK" _Alfred Tennyson_ + +THE ARROW AND THE SONG _Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_ + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS + +THE TABLE AND THE CHAIR _Edward Lear_ + +THE OWL _Alfred Tennyson_ + +THE OWL AND THE PUSSY-CAT _Edward Lear_ + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS + +FABLE _Ralph Waldo Emerson_ + +WRITTEN IN MARCH _William Wordsworth_ + +THOSE EVENING BELLS _Thomas Moore_ + +TO A BUTTERFLY _William Wordsworth_ + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS + +LUCY _William Wordsworth_ + +LUCY GRAY, OR SOLITUDE _William Wordsworth_ + +POOR SUSAN _William Wordsworth_ + + + + +VERSE AND PROSE FOR BEGINNERS IN READING. + + +ALPHABET. + +A was an apple-pie; +B bit it; +C cut it; +D dealt it; +E ate it; +F fought for it; +G got it; +H had it; +J joined it; +K kept it; +L longed for it: +M mourned for it; +N nodded at it; +O opened it; +P peeped into it; +Q quartered it; +R ran for it; +S stole it; +T took it; +V viewed it; +W wanted it; +X, Y, Z, and amperse-and, +All wished for a piece in hand. + + + +A DEWDROP. + +Little drop of dew, + Like a gem you are; +I believe that you + Must have been a star. + +When the day is bright, + On the grass you lie; +Tell me then, at night + Are you in the sky? + + + +BEES. + +Bees don't care about the snow; +I can tell you why that's so: + +Once I caught a little bee +Who was much too warm for me! + + * * * * * + +Baa, baa, black sheep, + Have you any wool? +Yes, marry, have I, + Three bags full; + +One for my master, + And one for my dame, +But none for the little boy + Who cries in the lane. + + * * * * * + +Bless you, bless you, burnie bee; +Say, when will your wedding be? +If it be to-morrow day, +Take your wings and fly away. + + * * * * * + +Bow, wow, wow, +Whose dog art thou? +Little Tom Tinker's dog, +Bow, wow, wow. + + * * * * * + +Bye, baby bunting, +Daddy's gone a-hunting, +To get a little rabbit skin +To wrap the baby bunting in. + + * * * * * + +Star light, star bright, +First star I see to-night; +I wish I may, I wish I might, +Have the wish I wish to-night. + + * * * * * + +The little moon came out too soon, +And in her fright looked thin and white, + The stars then shone, + And every one +Twinkled and winked and laughed and blinked. +The great sun now rolled forth in might +And drove them all quite out of sight. + + + +TO A HONEY-BEE. + +"Busy-body, busy-body, + Always on the wing, +Wait a bit, where you have lit, + And tell me why you sing." + +Up, and in the air again, + Flap, flap, flap! +And now she stops, and now she drops + Into the rose's lap. + +"Come, just a minute come, + From your rose so red." +Hum, hum, hum, hum-- + That was all she said. + +"Busy-body, busy-body, + Always light and gay, +It seems to me, for all I see, + Your work is only play." + +And now the day is sinking to + The goldenest of eves, +And she doth creep for quiet sleep + Among the lily-leaves. + +"Come, just a moment come, + From your snowy bed." +Hum, hum, hum, hum-- + That was all she said. + +But, the while I mused, I learned + The secret of her way: +Do my part with cheerful heart, + And turn my work to play. + + * * * * * + +A cat came fiddling out of a barn, +With a pair of bag-pipes under her arm; +She could sing nothing but fiddle-de-dee, +The mouse has married the bumble-bee; +Pipe, cat,--dance, mouse,-- +We'll have a wedding at our good house. + + * * * * * + + A dillar, a dollar, + A ten o'clock scholar, +What makes you come so soon? +You used to come at ten o'clock, +But now you come at noon. + + * * * * * + + As I was going to St. Ives, + I met a man with seven wives; + Every wife had seven sacks, + Every sack had seven cats, + Every cat had seven kits: + Kits, cats, sacks, and wives, +How many were there going to St. Ives? + + * * * * * + +As I was going up Pippen Hill,-- + Pippen Hill was dirty,-- +There I met a pretty miss, + And she dropped me a curtsy. + +Little miss, pretty miss, + Blessings light upon you; +If I had half-a-crown a day, + I'd spend it all upon you. + + * * * * * + +A swarm of bees in May +Is worth a load of hay; +A swarm of bees in June +Is worth a silver spoon; +A swarm of bees in July +Is not worth a fly. + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + +As blind as a bat. +As broad as it is long. +As cross as two sticks. +As dark as pitch. +As dead as a door nail. +As dead as a herring. +As full as an egg is of meat. +As hot as toast. +As like as two peas. +As merry as a cricket. +As plain as the nose on a man's face. +As quiet as a mouse. +As sharp as a razor. +As straight as an arrow. +As sweet as honey. +As true as steel. +As weak as water. + + + +NONSENSE ALPHABET. + +A was an ant +Who seldom stood still, +And who made a nice house +In the side of a hill. + Nice little ant! + +B was a bat, +Who slept all the day, +And fluttered about +When the sun went away. + Brown little bat! + +C was a camel: +You rode on his hump; +And if you fell off, +You came down such a bump! + What a high camel! + +D was a duck +With spots on his back, +Who lived in the water, +And always said "Quack!" + Dear little duck! + +E was an elephant, +Stately and wise: +He had tusks and a trunk, +And two queer little eyes. + Oh, what funny small eyes! + +F was a fish +Who was caught in a net; +But he got out again, +And is quite alive yet. + Lively young fish! + +G was a goat +Who was spotted with brown: +When he did not lie still +He walked up and down. + Good little goat! + +H was a hat +Which was all on one side; +Its crown was too high, +And its brim was too wide. + Oh, what a hat! + +I was some ice +So white and so nice, +But which nobody tasted; +And so it was wasted. + All that good ice! + +J was a jug, +So pretty and white, +With fresh water in it +At morning and night. + Nice little jug! + +K was a kite +Which flew out of sight, +Above houses so high, +Quite into the sky. + Fly away, kite! +L was a lily, +So white and so sweet! +To see it and smell it +Was quite a nice treat. + Beautiful lily! + +M was a man, +Who walked round and round; +And he wore a long coat +That came down to the ground. + Funny old man! + +N was a net +Which was thrown In the sea +To catch fish for dinner +For you and for me. + Nice little net! + +O was an orange +So yellow and round: +When it fell off the tree, +It fell down to the ground. + Down to the ground! + +P was a polly. +All red, blue, and green,-- +The most beautiful polly +That ever was seen. + Poor little polly! +Q was a quail +With a very short tail; +And he fed upon corn +In the evening and morn. + Quaint little quail! + +R was a rabbit, +Who had a bad habit +Of eating the flowers +In gardens and bowers. + Naughty fat rabbit! + +S was the sugar-tongs, +Nippity-nee, +To take up the sugar +To put in our tea. + Nippity-nee! + +T was a tortoise, +All yellow and black: +He walked slowly away, +And he never came back. + Torty never came back! + +U was an urn +All polished and bright, +And full of hot water +At noon and at night. + Useful old urn! + +V was a veil +With a border upon it, +And a ribbon to tie it +All round a pink bonnet. + Pretty green veil! + +W was a watch, +Where, in letters of gold, +The hour of the day +You might always behold. + Beautiful watch! + +Y was a yew, +Which flourished and grew +By a quiet abode +Near the side of a road. + Dark little yew! + +Z was a zebra, +All striped white and black; +And if he were tame, +You might ride on his back. + Pretty striped zebra! + + + +THE EGG IN THE NEST. + +There was a tree stood in the ground, +The prettiest tree you ever did see; +The tree in the wood, and the wood in the ground, +And the green grass growing all around. + +And on this tree there was a limb, +The prettiest limb you ever did see; +The limb on the tree, and the tree in the wood, +The tree in the wood, and the wood in the ground, +And the green grass growing all around. + +And on this limb there was a bough, +The prettiest bough you ever did see; +The bough on the limb, and the limb on the tree, +The limb on the tree, and the tree in the wood, +The tree in the wood, and the wood in the ground, +And the green grass growing all around. + +Now on this bough there was a nest, +And in this nest there were some eggs, +The prettiest eggs you ever did see; +Eggs in the nest, and the nest on the bough, +The bough on the limb, and the limb on the tree, +The limb on the tree, and the tree in the wood, +The tree in the wood, and the wood in the ground, +And the green grass growing all around, +And the green grass growing all around. + + * * * * * + + Hey! diddle, diddle, + The cat and the fiddle, +The cow jumped over the moon; + The little dog laughed + To see such sport, +And the dish ran away with the spoon. + + * * * * * + +Pussy sits beside the fire, + How can she be fair? +In comes the little dog, + "Pussy, are you there? +So, so, dear Mistress Pussy, + Pray tell me how do you do?" +"Thank you, thank you, little dog, + I'm very well just now." + + * * * * * + + Ding dong bell, + The cat's in the well! + Who put her in?-- + Little Johnny Green. + Who pulled her out?-- + Big Johnny Stout. +What a naughty boy was that +To drown poor pussy cat, +Who never did him any harm, +But killed the mice in his father's barn! + + + +DAISIES. + +At evening when I go to bed +I see the stars shine overhead; +They are the little daisies white +That dot the meadow of the Night. + +And often while I'm dreaming so, +Across the sky the Moon will go; +It is a lady, sweet and fair, +Who comes to gather daisies there. + +For, when at morning I arise, +There's not a star left in the skies; +She's picked them all and dropped them down +Into the meadows of the town. + + + +SPINNING TOP. + +When I spin round without a stop +And keep my balance like the top, +I find that soon the floor will swim +Before my eyes; and then, like him, +I lie all dizzy on the floor +Until I feel like spinning more. + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + + +Every dog has its day. +Every horse thinks his own pack heaviest. +Every little helps. +Every man for himself, and God for us all. +Faint heart never won fair lady. +Fair words butter no parsnips. +Fine feathers make fine birds. +Follow the river and you will get to the sea. +Fools build houses, and wise men live in them. +For every evil under the sun, there is a remedy, or there is none; + If there be one, try and find It; if there be none, never mind it. +For want of a nail the shoe is lost; for want of a shoe the horse is lost; + for want of a horse the rider is lost. + + * * * * * + +Bobby Shafto's gone to sea, +With silver buckles at his knee; +He'll come back and marry me,-- + Pretty Bobby Shafto! + +Bobby Shafto's fat and fair, +Combing out his yellow hair, +He's my love for evermore,-- + Pretty Bobby Shafto! + + * * * * * + +Every lady in this land +Has twenty nails upon each hand +Five and twenty on hands and feet. +All this is true without deceit. + + * * * * * + +Great A, little a, +Bouncing B! +The cat's in the cupboard, +And she can't see. + + * * * * * + + Hark, hark, + The dogs do bark, +The beggars are coming to town; + Some in rags, + Some in jags, +And some in velvet gowns. + + * * * * * + +Sing a song of sixpence, + A pocket full of rye; +Four and twenty blackbirds + Baked in a pie; +When the pie was opened, + The birds began to sing; +Was not that a dainty dish + To set before the king? + +The king was in the parlor, + Counting out his money; +The queen was in the kitchen, + Eating bread and honey; + +The maid was in the garden, + Hanging out the clothes; +There came a little blackbird, + And snipped off her nose. + +Jenny was so mad, + She didn't know what to do; +She put her finger in her ear, + And cracked it right in two. + + * * * * * + +Hickory, dickory, dock, +The mouse ran up the clock, +The clock struck one, +The mouse ran down; +Hickory, dickory, dock. + + * * * * * + + Hot-cross buns! + Hot-cross buns! +One a penny, two a penny. + Hot-cross buns! + Hot-cross buns! + Hot-cross buns! +If ye have no daughters, + Give them to your sons. + + * * * * * + +How does my lady's garden grow? +How does my lady's garden grow? +With cockle shells, and silver bells, +And pretty maids all of a row. + + * * * * * + +Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, +Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; +Threescore men and threescore more +Cannot place Humpty Dumpty as he was before. + + * * * * * + +Hush-a-bye, baby, on the tree-top, +When the wind blows, the cradle will rock, +When the bough bends, the cradle will fall, +Down will come baby, bough, cradle, and all. + + * * * * * + +Some little mice sat in a barn to spin; +Pussy came by, and popped her head in; +"Shall I come in, and cut your threads off?" +"Oh, no, kind sir, you would snap our heads off." + + * * * * * + +If all the world were apple-pie? + And all the sea were ink. +And all the trees were bread and cheese, + What should we have for drink? + + * * * * * + +If wishes were horses, + Beggars might ride; +If turnips were watches, + I would wear one by my side. + + * * * * * + +I have a little sister, they call her peep, peep; +She wades the waters deep, deep, deep; +She climbs the mountains high, high, high; +Poor little creature, she has but one eye. + + + +WHO STOLE THE BIRD'S NEST? + +"To-whit! to-whit! to-whee! +Will you listen to me? +Who stole four eggs I laid, +And the nice nest I made?" + +"Not I," said the cow, "Moo-oo! +Such a thing I'd never do. +I gave you a wisp of hay, +But didn't take your nest away. +Not I," said the cow, "Moo-oo! +Such a thing I'd never do." + +"To-whit! to-whit! to-whee! +Will you listen to me? +Who stole four eggs I laid, +And the nice nest I made?" + +"Bob-o'-link! Bob-o'-link! +Now what do you think? +Who stole a nest away +From the plum-tree, to-day?" + +"Not I," said the dog, "Bow-wow! +I wouldn't be so mean, any how! +I gave the hairs the nest to make, +But the nest I did not take. +Not I," said the dog, "Bow-wow! +I'm not so mean, anyhow." + +"To-whit! to-whit! to-whee! +Will you listen to me? +Who stole four eggs I laid, +And the nice nest I made?" +"Bob-o'-link! Bob-o'-link! +Now what do you think? +Who stole a nest away +From the plum-tree? to-day?" + +"Coo-coo! Coo-coo! Coo-coo! +Let me speak a word, too! +Who stole that pretty nest +From little yellow-breast?" + +"Not I," said the sheep; "oh, no! +I wouldn't treat a poor bird so. +I gave wool the nest to line, +But the nest was none of mine. +Baa! Baa!" said the sheep; "oh, no, +I wouldn't treat a poor bird so." + +"To-whit! to-whit! to-whee! +Will you listen to me? +Who stole four eggs I laid, +And the nice nest I made?" + +"Bob-o'-link! Bob-o'-link! +Now what do you think? +Who stole a nest away +From the plum-tree, to-day?" + +"Coo-coo! Coo-coo! Coo-coo! +Let me speak a word, too! +Who stole that pretty nest +From little yellow-breast?" + +"Caw! Caw!" cried the crow; +"I should like to know +What thief took away +A bird's nest to-day?" + +"Cluck! Cluck!" said the hen; +"Don't ask me again, +Why, I haven't a chick +Would do such a trick. +We all gave her a feather, +And she wove them together. +I'd scorn to intrude +On her and her brood. +Cluck! Cluck!" said the hen, +"Don't ask me again." + +"Chirr-a-whirr! Chirr-a-whirr! +All the birds make a stir! +Let us find out his name, +And all cry 'for shame!'" + +"I would not rob a bird," +Said little Mary Green; +"I think I never heard +Of anything so mean." +"It is very cruel, too," + Said little Alice Neal; +"I wonder if he knew + How sad the bird would feel?" + + A little boy hung down his head, + And went and hid behind the bed, + For he stole that pretty nest + From poor little yellow-breast; + And he felt so full of shame, + He didn't like to tell his name. + + * * * * * + +I saw a ship a-sailing, + A-sailing on the sea; +And oh, it was all laden + With pretty things for thee! + +There were comfits in the cabin, + And apples in the hold; +The sails were made of silk, + And the masts were made of gold! + +The four and twenty sailors, + That stood between the decks, +Were four and twenty white mice, + With chains about their necks. + +The captain was a duck, + With a packet on his back; +And when the ship began to move. + The captain said, "Quack! Quack!" + + * * * * * + +Jack and Jill went up the hill, + To fetch a pail of water; +Jack fell down, and broke his crown, + And Jill came tumbling after. + + * * * * * + +Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep, + And can't tell where to find them; +Leave them alone, and they'll come home, + And bring their tails behind them. + +Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep, + And dreamed she heard them bleating; +But when she awoke, she found it a joke, + For they were still a-fleeting. + +Then up she took her little crook, + Determined for to find them; +She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed, + For they'd left all their tails behind 'em. + + * * * * * + +Little boy blue, come blow your horn, +The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn; +Where's the little boy that tends the sheep? +He's under the haycock, fast asleep. +Go wake him, go wake him. Oh, no, not I; +For if I awake him, he'll certainly cry. + + * * * * * + +Little girl, little girl, where have you been? +Gathering roses to give to the queen. +Little girl, little girl, what gave she you? +She gave me a diamond as big as my shoe. + + * * * * * + +Little Jack Horner sat in the corner, + Eating a Christmas pie; +He put in his thumb, and he took out a plum, + And said, "What a good boy am I!" + + * * * * * + +Little Johnny Pringle had a little pig; +It was very little, so was not very big. +As it was playing beneath the shed, +In half a minute poor Piggie was dead. +So Johnny Pringle he sat down and cried, +And Betty Pringle she lay down and died. +There is the history of one, two, and three, +Johnny Pringle, Betty Pringle, and Piggie Wiggie. + + * * * * * + Little Miss Muffet + She sat on a tuffet, +Eating of curds and whey; + There came a black spider, + And sat down beside her, +Which frightened Miss Muffet away. + + * * * * * + + There was a little man, + And he had a little gun, +And his bullets were made of lead, lead, lead; + He went to the brook. + And he saw a little duck, +And shot it through the head, head, head. + He carried it home + To his wife Joan, +And bade her a fire to make, make, make, + To roast the little duck, + He had shot in the brook, +And he'd go and fetch the drake, drake, drake. + + * * * * * + +Little Tommy Tucker + Sing for your supper. +What shall I sing? + White bread and butter. + +How shall I cut it + Without any knife? +How shall I marry + Without any wife? + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + +At sixes and sevens. +Beauty is but skin deep. +Half a loaf is better than no bread. +Better late than never. +Better live well than long. +Beware of no man more than thyself. +Birds of a feather will flock together. +Christmas comes but once a year; +And when it comes, it brings good cheer; +But when it's gone, it's never the near. +Brag is a good dog, but Holdfast is a better. +By fits and starts. +By and by is easily said. +Care will kill a cat. +Cats hide their claws. +Constant dropping wears the stone. +Count not your chickens before they are hatched. +Debt is the worst poverty. +Do not spur a free horse. +Don't cry till you are out of the wood. +Drive thy business; let not that drive thee. +Early to bed, and early to rise, +Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. +East or west, home is best. +Enough is as good as a feast. +Everybody's business is nobody's business. + + + +HAPPY THOUGHT. + +The world is so full of a number of things, +I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings. + + + +THE SUN'S TRAVELS. + +The sun is not abed, when I +At night upon my pillow lie; +Still round the earth his way he takes, +And morning after morning makes. + +While here at home, in shining day, +We round the sunny garden play, +Each little Indian sleepy-head +Is being kissed and put to bed. + +And when at eve I rise from tea, +Day dawns beyond the Atlantic Sea; +And all the children in the West +Are getting up and being dressed. +MY BED IS A BOAT. + +My bed is like a little boat; + Nurse helps me in when I embark; +She girds me in my sailor's coat + And starts me in the dark. + +At night, I go on board and say + Good-night to all my friends on shore; +I shut my eyes and sail away + And see and hear no more. + +And sometimes things to bed I take, + As prudent sailors have to do; +Perhaps a slice of wedding-cake, + Perhaps a toy or two. + +All night across the dark we steer; + But when the day returns at last, +Safe in my room, beside the pier, + I find my vessel fast. + + + +THE SWING. + +How do you like to go up in a swing, + Up in the air so blue? +Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing + Ever a child can do! +Up in the air and over the wall, + Till I can see so wide, +Rivers and trees and cattle and all + Over the countryside-- + +Till I look down on the garden green, + Down on the roof so brown-- +Up in the air I go flying again, + Up in the air and down! + + * * * * * + +Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John +Guard the bed that I lie on! +Four corners to my bed, +Four angels round my head; +One to watch, one to pray, +And two to bear my soul away. + + * * * * * + +Mistress Mary, quite contrary, + How does your garden grow? +With cockle-shells, and silver bells, + And pretty maids all in a row. + + * * * * * + + Old King Cole + Was a merry old soul, +And a merry old soul was he; +He called for his pipe, +And he called for his bowl, +And he called for his fiddlers three. +Every fiddler, he had a fiddle, +And a very fine fiddle had he; +Twee tweedle dee, tweedle dee, went the fiddlers. + Oh, there's none so rare, + As can compare +With old King Cole and his fiddlers three! + + + +MOTHER HUBBARD AND HER DOG + +Old Mother Hubbard +Went to the cupboard, + To get her poor dog a bone; +But when she came there, +The cupboard was bare, + And so the poor dog had none. + +She went to the baker's + To buy him some bread; +But when she came back, + The poor dog was dead. + +She went to the joiner's + To buy him a coffin; +But when she came back. + The poor dog was laughing. + +She took a clean dish + To get him some tripe; +But when she came back, + He was smoking his pipe. + +She went to the fishmonger's + To buy him some fish; +And when she came back, + He was licking the dish. + +She went to the ale-house + To get him some beer; +But when she came back, + The dog sat in a chair. + +She went to the tavern + For white wine and red; +But when she came back, + The dog stood on his head. + +She went to the hatter's + To buy him a hat; +But when she came back, + He was feeding the cat. + +She went to the barber's + To buy him a wig; +But when she came back, + He was dancing a jig. + +She went to the fruiterer's + To buy him some fruit; +But when she came back, + He was playing the flute. + +She went to the tailor's + To buy him a coat; +But when she came back, + He was riding a goat. + +She went to the cobbler's + To buy him some shoes; +But when she came back, + He was reading the news. + +She went to the seamstress + To buy him some linen; +But when she came back, + The dog was spinning. + +She went to the hosiers + To buy him some hose; +But when she came back, + He was dressed in his clothes. + +The dame made a curtsy, + The dog made a bow; +The dame said, Your servant, + The dog said; Bow, wow. + + + +RUNAWAY BROOK. + +"Stop, stop, pretty water!" + Said Mary one day, +To a frolicsome brook, + That was running away. + +"You run on so fast! + I wish you would stay; +My boat and my flowers + You will carry away. + +"But I will run after: + Mother says that I may; +For I would know where + You are running away." + +So Mary ran on; + But I have heard say, +That she never could find + Where the brook ran away. + + +BED IN SUMMER. + +In winter I get up at night +And dress by yellow candle-light. +In summer, quite the other way, +I have to go to bed by day. + +I have to go to bed and see +The birds still hopping on the tree, +Or hear the grown-up people's feet +Still going past me in the street. + +And does it not seem hard to you, +When all the sky is clear and blue, +And I should like so much to play, +To have to go to bed by day? + + + +AT THE SEASIDE + +When I was down beside the sea +A wooden spade they gave to me + To dig the sandy shore. + +My holes were empty like a cup, +In every hole the sea came up, + Till it could come no more. + + + +THE MEETING OF THE SHIPS. + +When o'er the silent seas alone, +For days and nights we've cheerless gone, +Oh, they who've felt it know how sweet, +Some sunny morn a sail to meet. + +Sparkling at once is ev'ry eye, +"Ship ahoy! ship ahoy!" our joyful cry; +While answering back the sounds we hear, +"Ship ahoy! ship ahoy! what cheer? what cheer?" + +Then sails are back'd, we nearer come, +Kind words are said of friends and home; +And soon, too soon, we part with pain, +To sail o'er silent seas again. + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + +A barking dog seldom bites. +A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. +A cat may look at a king. +A chip of the old block. +A day after the fair. +A fool and his money are soon parted. +A fool may ask more questions in an hour than a wise man can answer in + seven years. +A fool may make money, but it needs a wise man to spend it. +A friend in need is a friend indeed. +A good garden may have some weeds. +A good workman is known by his chips. +A hard beginning makes a good ending. + + * * * * * + +Three little kittens lost their mittens, + And they began to cry: +"O mother dear, we very much fear + That we have lost our mittens." + +"Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens! + Then you shall have no pie." + "Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow! + And we can have no pie. + Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow!" + + * * * * * + +Once I saw a little bird + Come hop, hop, hop; +So I cried, "Little bird, + Will you stop, stop, stop?" +And was going to the window + To say, "How do you do?" +But he shook his little tail, + And far away he flew. + + * * * * * + +One misty, moisty morning, + When cloudy was the weather, +I chanced to meet an old man + Clothed all in leather; +He began to compliment, + And I began to grin,-- +"How do you do," and "How do you do," + And "How do you do" again! + + * * * * * + +Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers; +A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked; +If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, +Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? + + * * * * * + +Rid a cock-horse to Banbury-cross +To see an old lady upon a white horse, +Rings on her fingers, and bells on her toes, +And so she makes music wherever she goes. + + * * * * * + +Three wise men of Gotham +Went to sea in a bowl; +If the bowl had been stronger, +My song would have been longer. + + * * * * * + +See, saw, sacradown, +Which is the way to London town? +One foot up, the other foot down, +And that is the way to London town. + + * * * * * + +Simple Simon met a pieman + Going to the fair; +Says Simple Simon to the pieman, + "Let me taste your ware." + +Says the pieman to Simple Simon, + "Show me first your penny;" +Says Simple Simon to the pieman, + "Indeed, I have not any." + +Simple Simon went a-fishing + For to catch a whale; +All the water he had got + Was in his mother's pail. + +Simple Simon went to look + If plums grew on a thistle; +He pricked his fingers very much, + Which made poor Simon whistle. + + + +PRETTY COW. + +Thank you? pretty cow, that made + Pleasant milk to soak my bread, +Every day and every night, + Warm, and fresh, and sweet, and white. + +Do not chew the hemlock rank, + Growing on the weedy bank; +But the yellow cowslips eat, + That will make it very sweet. +Where the purple violet grows, + Where the bubbling water flows, +Where the grass is fresh and fine. + Pretty cow, go there and dine. + + + +THE STAR. + +Twinkle, twinkle, little star; +How I wonder what you are! +Up above the world so high, +Like a diamond in the sky. + +When the glorious sun is set, +When the grass with dew is wet, +Then you show your little light, +Twinkle, twinkle, all the night. + +In the dark blue sky you keep, +And often through my curtains peep; +For you never shut your eye +Till the sun is in the sky. + +As your bright and tiny spark, +Lights the traveller in the dark, +Though I know not what you are, +Twinkle, twinkle, little star. + + +MARY'S LAMB. + +Mary had a little lamb, + Its fleece was white as snow; +And everywhere that Mary went, + The lamb was sure to go. + +He followed her to school one day,-- + That was against the rule; +It made the children laugh and play, + To see a lamb at school. + +So the teacher turned him out, + But still he lingered near, +And waited patiently about, + Till Mary did appear. + +Then he ran to her, and laid + His head upon her arm, +As if he said, "I'm not afraid,-- + You'll keep me from all harm." + +"What makes the lamb love Mary so?" + The eager children cry. +"Oh, Mary loves the lamb, you know," + The teacher did reply. + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + +A watched pot never boils. +After dinner sit awhile; after supper walk a mile. +All his fingers are thumbs. +All is fish that comes to the net. +All is not gold that glitters. +All's well that ends well. +All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. +All your geese are swans. +Always taking out of the meal tub, and never putting in, soon comes to the + bottom. +An inch on a man's nose is much. +An old bird is not caught with chaff. +An old dog will learn no new tricks. +As bare as the back of my hand. + + * * * * * + +Solomon Grundy, +Born on a Monday, +Christened on Tuesday, +Married on Wednesday, +Took ill on Thursday, +Worse on Friday, +Died on Saturday, +Buried on Sunday: +This is the end +Of Solomon Grundy. + + * * * * * + +The King of France went up the hill, + With twenty thousand men; +The King of France came down the hill, + And ne'er went up again. + + * * * * * + +The man in the wilderness asked me, +How many strawberries grew in the sea. +I answered him, as I thought good, +As many red herrings as grew in the wood. + + * * * * * + +There was a crooked man, and he went a crooked mile, +He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile: +He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse, +And they all lived together in a little crooked house. + + * * * * * + +Tom, Tom, the piper's son, +Stole a pig and away he run! +The pig was eat, and Tom was beat, +And Tom went roaring down the street. + + * * * * * + +There was a little boy went into a barn, + And lay down on some hay; +An owl came out and flew about, + And the little boy ran away. + + * * * * * + +There was a man of our town, +And he was wondrous wise; +He jumped into a bramble bush, +And scratched out both his eyes: +And when he saw his eyes were out, +With all his might and main +He jumped into another bush, +And scratched 'em in again. + + * * * * * + +1. This pig went to market; +2. This pig stayed at home; +3. This pig had a bit of meat; +4. And this pig had none; +5. This pig said, "Wee, wee, wee! I can't find my way home." + + * * * * * + +Tom, Tom, of Islington, +Married a wife on Sunday; +Brought her home on Monday; +Hired a house on Tuesday; +Fed her well on Wednesday; +Sick was she on Thursday; +Dead was she on Friday; +Sad was Tom on Saturday, +To bury his wife on Sunday. + + + +WEE WILLIE WINKIE. + +Wee Willie Winkie + Runs through the town, +Upstairs and downstairs, + In his night-gown; +Tapping at the window, + Crying at the lock, +"Are the babes in their bed? + For it's now ten o'clock." + + + +SINGING. + +Of speckled eggs the birdie sings + And nests among the trees; +The sailor sings of ropes and things + In ships upon the seas. + +The children sing in far Japan, + The children sing in Spain; +The organ with the organ man + Is singing in the rain. + + + +THE COW. + +The friendly cow all red and white, + I love with all my heart; +She gives me cream with all her might, + To eat with apple-tart. + +She wanders lowing here and there, + And yet she cannot stray, +All in the pleasant open air, + The pleasant light of day; + +And blown by all the winds that pass + And wet with all the showers. +She walks among the meadow grass + And eats the meadow flowers. + + + +GOOD-NIGHT AND GOOD-MORNING. + +A fair little girl sat under a tree, +Sewing as long as her eyes could see; +Then smoothed her work and folded it right +And said, "Dear work, good-night, good-night!" + +Such a number of rooks came over her head, +Crying "Caw! Caw!" on their way to bed, +She said, as she watched their curious flight, +"Little black things, good-night, good-night!" + +The horses neighed, and the oxen lowed, +The sheep's "Bleat! Bleat!" came over the road; +All seeming to say, with a quiet delight, +"Good little girl, good-night, good-night!" + +She did not say to the sun, "Good-night!" +Though she saw him there like a ball of light; +For she knew he had God's time to keep +All over the world and never could sleep. + +The tall pink foxglove bowed his head; +The violets curtsied, and went to bed; +And good little Lucy tied up her hair, +And said, on her knees, her favorite prayer. + +And while on her pillow she softly lay, +She knew nothing more till again it was day; +And all things said to the beautiful sun, +"Good-morning, good-morning! our work is begun." + + + +MOTHER'S EYES. + +What are the songs the mother sings? +Of birds and flowers and pretty things; +Baby lies in her arms and spies +All his world in the mother's eyes. + +What are the tales the mother tells? +Of gems and jewels and silver bells; +Baby lies in her arms and spies +All his wealth in the mother's eyes. + +What are the thoughts in the mother's mind? +Of the gentle Saviour, loving and kind; +Baby lies in her arms and spies +All his heaven in the mother's eyes. + + + +THE LAND OF NOD. + +From breakfast on through all the day +At home among my friends I stay, +But every night I go abroad +Afar into the land of Nod. + +All by myself I have to go, +With, none to tell me what to do-- +All alone beside the streams +And up the mountain sides of dreams. + +The strangest things are there for me, +Both things to eat and things to see, +And many frightening sights abroad, +Till morning in the land of Nod. + +Try as I like to find the way, +I never can get back by day, +Nor can remember plain and clear +The curious music that I hear. + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + +A lass that has many wooers oft fares the worst. +A lazy sheep thinks its wool heavy. +A little leak will sink a great ship. +A living dog is better than a dead lion. +A man of words, and not of deeds, is like a garden full of weeds. +A man's house is his castle. +A miss is as good as a mile. +A penny for your thought. +A penny saved is a penny got. +A rolling stone will gather no moss. +A small spark makes a great fire. +A stitch in time saves nine. +A tree is known by its fruit. + + * * * * * + +When I was a little boy, I lived by myself, +And all the bread and cheese I got I put upon the shelf; +The rats and the mice did lead me such a life, +I was forced to go to London to buy me a wife. + +The streets were so broad, and the lanes were so narrow, +I could not get my wife home without a wheelbarrow; +The wheelbarrow broke, my wife got a fall, +Down tumbled wheelbarrow, little wife, and all. + + * * * * * + +Where are you going, my pretty maid? +"I'm going a-milking, sir," she said. +May I go with you, my pretty maid? +"You're kindly welcome, sir," she said. +What is your father, my pretty maid? +"My father's a farmer, sir," she said. + +Say, will you marry me, my pretty maid? +"Yes, if you please, kind sir," she said. +Will you be constant, my pretty maid? +"That I can't promise you, sir," she said. +Then I won't marry you, my pretty maid! +"Nobody asked you, sir!" she said. + + * * * * * + +Who killed Cock Robin? + "I," said the Sparrow, + "With my bow and arrow, +I killed Cock Robin." + +Who saw him die? + "I," said the Fly, + "With my little eye, +And I saw him die." + +Who caught his blood? + "I," said the Fish, + "With my little dish, +And I caught his blood." + +Who made his shroud? + "I," said the Beadle, + "With my little needle, +And I made his shroud." + +Who shall dig his grave? + "I," said the Owl, + "With my spade and showl [shovel], +And I'll dig his grave." + +Who'll be the parson? + "I," said the Rook, + "With my little book, +And I'll be the parson" + +Who'll be the clerk? + "I," said the Lark, + "If it's not in the dark, +And I'll be the clerk." + +Who'll carry him to the grave? + "I," said the Kite, + "If 't is not in the night, +And I'll carry him to his grave." + +Who'll carry the link? + "I," said the Linnet, + "I'll fetch it in a minute, +And I'll carry the link." + +Who'll be the chief mourner? + "I," said the Dove, + "I mourn for my love, +And I'll be chief mourner." + +Who'll bear the pall? + "We," said the Wren, + Both the cock and the hen, +"And we'll bear the pall." + +Who'll sing a psalm? + "I," said the Thrush, + As she sat in a bush, +"And I'll sing a psalm." + +And who'll toll the bell? + "I," said the Bull, + "Because I can pull;" +And so, Cock Robin, farewell. + + + +EPITAPH FOR ROBIN REDBREAST. + +Thou shalt have a little bed +Made for thee, and overspread +With brown leaves for coverlet, +Which the tearful dew has wet. +I, among the songs of Spring, +Will miss the song thou didst not sing. + + + +"PLAY WITH ME!" + +The kitten came this morning, and said, +With a touch of her paw and a turn of her head? + "Play, play with me!" + +And Skye, the terrier, caught my hand, +And tried to make me understand,-- + "Play, play with me!" + +And Nelly nipped my shoulder quite hard, +And then she went prancing around the yard-- + "Play, play with me!" + +I played with them all! Now, wouldn't you play, +If a little child, like me, should say, + "Play, play with me?" + + + +THE PIPER. + +Piping down the valleys wild. +Piping songs of pleasant glee, +On a cloud I saw a child, +And he laughing said to me:-- + +"Pipe a song about a lamb:" +So I piped with merry cheer. +"Piper, pipe that song again:" +So I piped; he wept to hear. + +"Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe, +Sing thy songs of happy cheer:" +So I sung the same again, +While he wept with joy to hear. + +"Piper, sit thee down and write +In a book that all may read." +So he vanish'd from my sight; +And I pluck'd a hollow reed, + +And I made a rural pen, +And I stain'd the water clear, +And I wrote my happy songs +Every child may joy to hear. + + + +INFANT JOY. + +I have no name-- +I am but two days old. +What shall I call thee? +I happy am, +Joy is my name.-- +Sweet joy befall thee! + +Pretty joy! +Sweet joy but two days old. +Sweet joy I call thee, +Thou dost smile, +I sing the while, +Sweet joy befall thee! + + + +THE LAMB. + +Little lamb, who made thee? +Dost thou know who made thee, +Gave thee life and bid thee feed +By the stream and o'er the mead; +Gave thee clothing of delight, +Softest cloth, woolly, bright; +Gave thee such a tender voice +Making all the vales rejoice; + Little lamb, who made thee? + Dost thou know who made thee? +Little lamb, I'll tell thee, +Little lamb, I'll tell thee. +He is called by thy name, +For He calls himself a Lamb: +He is meek and he is mild, +He became a little child, +I a child and thou a lamb, +We are called by His name. + Little lamb, God bless thee, + Little lamb, God bless thee. + + + +THE LITTLE BOY LOST. + +Father! father! where are you going? + Oh, do not walk so fast. +Speak, father speak to your little boy, + Or else I shall be lost. + +The night was dark, no father was there; + The child was wet with dew; +The mire was deep and the child did weep, + And away the vapor flew. + + + +THE LITTLE BOY FOUND. + +The little boy lost in the lonely fen, + Led by the wandering light, +Began to cry; but God, ever nigh, + Appeared like his father in white; + +He kissed the child, and by the hand led, + And to his mother brought, +Who, in sorrow pale, through the lonely dale, + Her little boy weeping sought. + + + +ON THE VOWELS. + +We are little airy creatures, +All of different voice and features; +One of us in glass is set, +One of us you'll find in jet. +T' other you may see in tin, +And the fourth a box within. +If the fifth you should pursue, +It can never fly from you. + + + +LETTERS. + +Every day brings a ship, +Every ship brings a word; +Well for those who have no fear, +Looking seaward well assured +That the word the vessel brings +Is the word they wish to hear. + + + +ON A CIRCLE. + +I'm up and down, and round about, +Yet all the world can't find me out; +Though hundreds have employed their leisure, +They never yet could find my measure. +I'm found almost in every garden, +Nay, in the compass of a farthing. +There's neither chariot, coach, nor mill, +Can move an inch except I will. + + + +ARIEL'S SONG. + +Where the bee sucks, there suck I; +In a cowslip's bell I lie: +There I couch, when owls do cry. +On the bat's back I do fly, +After summer, merrily: +Merrily, merrily, shall I live now +Under the blossom, that hangs on the bough. + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + +Forgive and forget. +Fortune helps them that help themselves. +Give a thief rope enough, and he'll hang himself. +Give him an inch, and he'll take an ell. +Go farther and fare worse. +Good wine needs no bush. +Handsome is that handsome does. +Happy as a king. +Haste makes waste, and waste makes want, and want makes strife between the + good-man and his wife. +He cannot say boo to a goose. +He knows on which side his bread is buttered. + + + +SONG. + +There is dew for the floweret, + And honey for the bee, +And bowers for the wild bird, + And love for you and me. + +There are tears for the many, + And pleasure for the few; +But let the world pass on, dear, + There's love for me and you. + + + +YOUTH AND AGE. + +Impatient of his childhood, + "Ah me!" exclaims young Arthur, +Whilst roving in the wild wood, + "I wish I were my father!" +Meanwhile, to see his Arthur + So skip, and play, and run, +"Ah me!" exclaims the father, + "I wish I were my son!" + + + +UPON SUSANNA'S FEET. + + Her pretty feet + Like snails did creep + A little out, and then, +As if they played at bo-peep, + Did soon draw in again. + + + +UPON A CHILD THAT DIED. + +Here she lies, a pretty bud, +Lately made of flesh and blood: +Who as soon fell fast asleep, +As her little eyes did peep. +Give her strewings, but not stir +The earth that lightly covers her. + + + +CHERRY-RIPE. + +Cherry-ripe, ripe, ripe, I cry, +Full and fair ones; come and buy! +If so be you ask me where +They do grow, I answer, There, +Where my Julia's lips do smile; +There's the land, or cherry-isle, +Whose plantations fully show +All the year where cherries grow. + + + +ANSWER TO A CHILD'S QUESTION. + +Do you ask what the birds say? The sparrow, the dove, +The linnet and thrush say, "I love and I love!" +In the winter they're silent--the wind is so strong; +What it says, I don't know; but it sings a loud song. +But green leaves, and blossoms, and sunny warm weather, +And singing, and loving--all come back together, +But the lark is so brimful of gladness and love, +The green fields below him, the blue sky above, +That he sings, and he sings; and forever sings he-- +"I love my Love, and my Love loves me!" + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + +He sees an inch afore his nose. +He takes the bull by the horns. +He that fights and runs away may live to fight another day. +He that goes a borrowing, goes a sorrowing. +He that has but four and spends five has no need of a purse. +He that knows not how to hold his tongue knows not how to talk. +He that lives on hope has but a slender diet. +He that plants trees loves others besides himself. +He that will steal a pin will steal a better thing. +He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. +He's in clover. +His bread is buttered on both sides. +His room is better than his company. +Hunger is the best sauce. +I have other fish to fry. + + + +"ONE, TWO, THREE!" + +It was an old, old, old, old lady, + And a boy that was half past three; +And the way that they played together + Was beautiful to see. + +She couldn't go running and jumping, + And the boy, no more could he; +For he was a thin little fellow, + With a thin little twisted knee. + +They sat in the yellow sunlight, + Out under the maple-tree; +And the game that they played I'll tell you, + Just as it was told to me. + +It was Hide-and-Go-Seek they were playing, + Though you'd never have known it to be-- +With an old, old, old, old lady, + And a boy with a twisted knee. + +The boy would bend his face down + On his one little sound right knee, +And he'd guess where she was hiding, + In guesses One, Two, Three! + +"You are in the china-closet!" + He would cry, and laugh with glee-- +It wasn't the china-closet; + But he still had Two and Three. + +"You are up in Papa's big bedroom, + In the chest with the queer old key!" +And she said: "You are _warm_ and _warmer_; + But you're not quite right," said she. + +"It can't be the little cupboard + Where Mamma's things used to be-- +So it must be the clothes-press, Gran'ma!" + And he found her with his Three. + +Then she covered her face with her fingers, + That were wrinkled and white and wee, +And she guessed where the boy was hiding, + With a One and a Two and a Three. + +And they never had stirred from their places, + Right under the maple-tree-- +This old, old, old, old lady, + And the boy with the lame little knee-- +This dear, dear, dear old lady, + And the boy who was half past three. + + + +THE BIRD AND ITS NEST. + +What does little birdie say, +In her nest at peep of day? +"Let me fly," says little birdie; +"Mother, let me fly away." +"Birdie, rest a little longer, +Till the little wings are stronger." +So she rests a little longer, +Then she flies away. +What does little baby say +In her bed at peep of day? +Baby says, like little birdie, +"Let me rise and fly away." +"Baby, sleep a little longer, +Till the little limbs are stronger." +If she sleeps a little longer, +Baby, too, shall fly away. + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + +Tell no tales out of school. +The bird that can sing, and won't sing, must be made to sing. +You have put the cart before the horse. +It is the early bird that catches the worm. +There is many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip. +The more haste, the less speed. +They who make the best use of their time have none to spare. +Those who play with edge tools must expect to be cut. +Three removes are as bad as a fire. +Through thick and thin. +Time and tide wait for no man. +To beat about the bush. +To break the ice. +To buy a pig in a poke. +To find a mare's nest. + + + +WINDY NIGHTS. + +Whenever the Moon and stars are set, + Whenever the wind is high, +All night long in the dark and wet, + A man goes riding by. +Late in the night when the fires are out +Why does he gallop and gallop about? + +Whenever the trees are crying aloud, + And ships are tossed at sea, +By, on the highway, low and loud, + By, at the gallop goes he. +By, at the gallop he goes, and then +By, he comes back at the gallop again. + + + +NONSENSE VERSES. + +There was an Old Man with a nose, +Who said, "If you choose to suppose +That my nose is too long, you are certainly wrong!" +That remarkable Man with a nose. + +There was an Old Man on a hill, +Who seldom, if ever, stood still; +He ran up and down in his Grandmother's gown, +Which adorned that Old Man on a hill. + +There was an Old Person of Dover, +Who rushed through a field of blue clover; +But some very large Bees stung his nose and his knees, +So he very soon went back to Dover. + +There was an Old Man who said, "Hush! +I perceive a young bird in this bush!" +When they said, "Is it small?" he replied, "Not at all; +It is four times as big as the bush!" + +There was an Old Man of the West, +Who never could get any rest; +So they set him to spin on his nose and his chin, +Which cured that Old Man of the West. + +There was an Old Man who said, "Well! +Will nobody answer this bell? +I have pulled day and night, till my hair has grown white, +But nobody answers this bell!" + +There was an Old Man with a beard, +Who said, "It is just as I feared!-- +Two Owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren, +Have all built their nests in my beard." + +There was an Old Person of Dean +Who dined on one pea and one bean; +For he said, "More than that would make me too fat," +That cautious Old Person of Dean. + +There was an Old Man of El Hums, +Who lived upon nothing but crumbs, +Which he picked off the ground, with the other birds round, +In the roads and the lanes of El Hums. + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + +If wishes were horses beggars would ride. +Ill news travels fast. +It never rains but it pours. +It is a long lane that has no turning. +It is an ill wind that blows no man good. +It is easier to pull down than to build. +It is never too late to mend. +Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee. +Leave well enough alone. +Let every tub stand on its own bottom. +Let them laugh that win. +Like father, like son. +Little and often fills the purse. +Look ere you leap. + + + +SONG. + +Oh, were my love yon lilac fair, + With purple blossoms to the spring; +And I a bird to shelter there. + When wearied on my little wing! + +How I would mourn, when it was torn, + By autumn wild, and winter rude! +But I would sing, on wanton wing, + When youthful May its bloom renewed. + + + +SWEET AND LOW. + +Sweet and low, sweet and low, + Wind of the western sea, +Low, low, breathe and blow, + Wind of the western sea! +Over the rolling waters go, +Come from the dying moon, and blow, + Blow him again to me; +While my little one, while my pretty one, sleeps. + +Sleep and rest, sleep and rest, + Father will come to thee soon; +Best, rest on mother's breast, + Father will come to thee soon; +Father will come to his babe in the nest, +Silver sails all out of the west + Under the silver moon: +Sleep, my little one, sleep, my pretty one, sleep. + + + +AGAINST IDLENESS AND MISCHIEF. + +How doth the little busy bee + Improve each shining hour, +And gather honey all the day + From every opening flower! + +How skilfully she builds her cell, + How neat she spreads the wax! +And labors hard to store it well + With the sweet food she makes. + +In works of labor or of skill, + I would be busy too; +For Satan finds some mischief still + For idle hands to do. + +In books, or work, or healthful play, + Let my first years be past, +That I may give for every day + Some good account at last. + + + +"BREAK, BREAK, BREAK!" + +Break, break, break, + On thy cold gray stones, O Sea! +And I would that my tongue could utter + The thoughts that arise in me. + +Oh, well for the fisherman's boy, + That he shouts with his sister at play! +Oh, well for the sailor lad, + That he sings in his boat on the bay! + +And the stately ships go on + To their haven under the hill; +But oh, for the touch of a vanished hand, + And the sound of a voice that is still! + +Break, break, break, + At the foot of thy crags, O Sea! +But the tender grace of a day that is dead + Will never come back to me. + + + +THE ARROW AND THE SONG. + +I shot an arrow into the air, +It fell to earth, I knew not where; +For, so swiftly it flew, the sight +Could not follow it in its flight. + +I breathed a song into the air, +It fell to earth, I knew not where; +For who has sight so keen and strong, +That it can follow the flight of song? + +Long, long afterward, in an oak +I found the arrow, still unbroke; +And the song, from beginning to end, +I found again in the heart of a friend. + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + +Love me little, love me long, +Is the burden of my song. +Many a true word is spoken in jest. +Many hands make light work. +Money is a good servant, but a bad master. +My mind to me a kingdom is. +Never be weary of well doing. +No cross, no crown. +No man can serve two masters. +No news is good news. +No smoke without some fire. +Not worth a pin. +Of two ills choose the least. +One cannot be in two places at once. +One good turn demands another. + + + +THE TABLE AND THE CHAIR. + +Said the Table to the Chair, +"You can hardly be aware +How I suffer from the heat +And from chilblains on my feet. +If we took a little walk, +We might have a little talk; +Pray let us take the air," +Said the Table to the Chair. + +Said the Chair unto the Table, +"Now, you know we are not able: +How foolishly you talk, +When you know we cannot walk!" +Said the Table with a sigh, +"It can do no harm to try. +I've as many legs as you: +Why can't we walk on two?" + +So they both went slowly down, +And walked about the town +With a cheerful bumpy sound +As they toddled round and round; +And everybody cried, +As they hastened to their side, +"See! the Table and the Chair +Have come out to take the air!" +But in going down an alley, +To a castle in a valley, +They completely lost their way, +And wandered all the day; +Till, to see them safely back, +They paid a Ducky-quack, +And a Beetle, and a Mouse, +Who took them to their house. + +Then they whispered to each other. +"O delightful little brother, +What a lovely walk we've taken! +Let us dine on beans and bacon." +So the Ducky and the leetle +Browny-Mousy and the Beetle +Dined, and danced upon their heads +Till they toddled to their beds. + + + +THE OWL. + +I. + +When cats run home and the light is come + And dew is cold upon the ground, +And the far-off stream is dumb, + And the whirring sail goes round, + And the whirring sail goes round; + Alone and warming his five wits, + The white owl in the belfry sits. + +II. + +When merry milkmaids click the latch, + And rarely smells the new-mown hay, +And the cock hath sung beneath the thatch + Twice or thrice his roundelay, + Twice or thrice his roundelay; + Alone and warming his five wits, + The white owl in the belfry sits. + + + +THE OWL THE PUSSY-CAT. + +The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea + In a beautiful pea-green boat: +They took some honey and plenty of money + Wrapped up In a five-pound note. +The Owl looked up to the stars above, + And sang to a small guitar, +"O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love, + What a beautiful Pussy you are, + You are, + You are! + What a beautiful Pussy you are!" + +Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl, + How charmingly sweet you sing! +Oh, let us be married; too long we have tarried: + But what shall we do for a ring?" +They sailed away, for a year and a day, + To the land where the bong-tree grows; +And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood, + With a ring at the end of his nose, + His nose, + His nose, + With a ring at the end of his nose. + +"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling + Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will." +So they took it away, and were married next day + By the Turkey who lives on the hill. +They dined on mince and slices of quince, + Which they ate with a runcible spoon; +And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, + They danced by the light of the moon, + The moon, + The moon, + They danced by the light of the moon. + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + +One man's meat is another man's poison. +Out of debt out of danger. +Out of the frying-pan into the fire. +Penny wise and pound foolish. +Riches have wings. +Robin Hood's choice: this or nothing. +Rome was not built in a day. +Save at the spiggot, and lose at the bung. +Second thoughts are best. +Set a thief to take a thief. +A short horse is soon curried. +Take the will for the deed. +Take away my good name, take away my life. +Take time by the forelock. + + + +FABLE. + +The mountain and the squirrel +Had a quarrel, +And the former called the latter "Little Prig;" +Bun replied, +"You are doubtless very big; +But all sorts of things and weather +Must be taken in together, +To make up a year +And a sphere. +And I think it no disgrace +To occupy my place. +If I'm not so large as you, +You are not so small as I, +And not half so spry. +I'll not deny you make +A very pretty squirrel track; +Talents differ; all is well and wisely put; +If I cannot carry forests on my back, +Neither can you crack a nut." + + + +WRITTEN IN MARCH + +WHILE RESTING ON THE BRIDGE AT THE FOOT OF BROTHER'S WATER. + + The Cock is crowing, + The stream is flowing, + The small birds twitter, + The lake doth glitter, +The green field sleeps in the sun; + The oldest and youngest + Are at work with the strongest; + The cattle are grazing. + Their heads never raising; +There are forty feeding like one! + + Like an army defeated + The snow hath retreated, + And now doth fare ill + On the top of the bare hill; +The Ploughboy is whooping--anon--anon + There's joy in the mountains; + There's life in the fountains; + Small clouds are sailing, + Blue sky prevailing; +The rain is over and gone! + + + +THOSE EVENING BELLS. + +Those evening bells! those evening bells! +How many a tale their music tells, +Of youth, and home, and that sweet time, +When last I heard their soothing chime. + +Those joyous hours are passed away; +And many a heart, that then was gay, +Within the tomb now darkly dwells, +And hears no more those evening bells. + +And so 't will be when I am gone; +That tuneful peal will still ring on, +While other bards shall walk these dells, +And sing your praise, sweet evening bells. + + + +TO A BUTTERFLY. + +I've watched you now a full half hour +Self-poised upon that yellow flower; +And, little Butterfly! indeed +I know not if you sleep or feed. +How motionless!--not frozen seas +More motionless!--and then +What joy awaits you, when the breeze +Hath found you out among the trees, +And calls you forth again! +This plot of orchard-ground is ours; +My trees they are, my Sister's flowers: +Here rest your wings when they are weary, +Here lodge as in a sanctuary! +Come often to us, fear no wrong; +Sit near us on the bough! +We'll talk of sunshine and of song, +And summer days, when we were young; +Sweet childish days, that were as long +As twenty days are now. + + + +PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS. + +To follow one's nose. +To have a finger in the pie. +To hit the nail on the head. +To kill two birds with one stone. +To make a spoon, or spoil a horn. +To pour oil into the fire is not the way to quench it. +Two heads are better than one. +Waste not, want not. +We easily forget our faults when nobody knows them. +We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. +When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman? +When the cat is away, the mice will play. +Strike when the iron is hot. +Where there's a will, there's a way. +You cannot eat your cake and have it too. +You must take the fat with the lean. + + +LUCY. + +She dwelt among the untrodden ways + Beside the springs of Dove; +A maid whom there were none to praise, + And very few to love. + +A violet by a mossy stone + Half-hidden from the eye!-- +Fair as a star, when only one + Is shining in the sky. + +She lived unknown, and few could know + When Lucy ceased to be; +But she is in her grave, and oh! + The difference to me. + + +LUCY GRAY, OR SOLITUDE. + +Oft I had heard of Lucy Gray; +And, when I crossed the wild, +I chanced to see, at break of day, +The solitary child. + +No mate, no comrade Lucy knew; +She dwelt on a wide moor,-- +The sweetest thing that ever grew +Beside a human door! + +You yet may spy the fawn at play, +The hare upon the green; +But the sweet face of Lucy Gray +Will nevermore be seen. + +"To-night will be a stormy night,-- +You to the town must go; +And take a lantern, Child, to light +Your mother through the snow." + +"That, Father! will I gladly do: +'T is scarcely afternoon,-- +The minster-clock has just struck two, +And yonder is the moon!" + +At this the father raised his hook, +And snapped a fagot-band; +He plied his work;--and Lucy took +The lantern in her hand. + +Not blither is the mountain roe; +With many a wanton stroke +Her feet disperse the powdery snow, +That rises up like smoke. + +The storm came on before its time, +She wandered up and down; +And many a hill did Lucy climb, +But never reached the town. + +The wretched parents all that night +Went shouting far and wide; +But there was neither sound nor sight +To serve them for a guide. + +At daybreak on the hill they stood +That overlooked the moor; +And thence they saw the bridge of wood, +A furlong from their door. + +They wept--and, turning homeward, cried, +"In heaven we all shall meet;"-- +When in the snow the mother spied +The print of Lucy's feet. + +Then downwards from the steep hill's edge +They tracked the footmarks small; +And through the broken hawthorn-hedge, +And by the long stone-wall. + +And then an open field they crossed, +The marks were still the same; +They tracked them on, nor ever lost, +And to the bridge they came. + +They followed from the snowy bank +Those footmarks, one by one, +Into the middle of the plank: +And further there were none! + +--Yet some maintain that to this day +She is a living child, +That you may see sweet Lucy Gray +Upon the lonesome wild. + +O'er rough and smooth she trips along, +And never looks behind; +And sings a solitary song +That whistles in the wind. + + + +POOR SUSAN. + +At the corner of Wood Street, when daylight appears, +There's a thrush that sings loud,--it has sung for three years; +Poor Susan has passed by the spot, and has heard +In the silence of morning the song of the bird. + +'Tis a note of enchantment; what ails her? She sees +A mountain ascending, a vision of trees; +Bright volumes of vapor through Lothbury glide, +And a river flows on through the vale of Cheapside. + +Green pastures she views in the midst of the dale, +Down which she so often has tripped with her pail; +And a single small cottage, a nest like a dove's, +The one only dwelling on earth that she loves. + +She looks, and her heart is in heaven; but they fade,-- +The mist and the river, the hill and the shade: +The stream will not flow, and the hill will not rise, +And the colors all have all passed away from her eyes. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Verse and Prose for Beginners in +Reading, by Horace Elisha Scudder, editor + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 10294 *** |