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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Child Songs of Cheer, by Evaleen Stein
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Child Songs of Cheer
+
+Author: Evaleen Stein
+
+Illustrator: Antoinette Inglis
+
+Release Date: September 27, 2006 [EBook #19389]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILD SONGS OF CHEER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Sankar Viswanathan, and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ [Illustration: DANDELIONS]
+
+ Dandelions, dandelions, shining through the dew,
+ Let the Kings have Cloth of Gold, but let _us_ have _you_!
+
+
+
+
+ CHILD SONGS OF CHEER
+
+
+
+ BY
+
+ EVALEEN STEIN
+
+
+
+ ILLUSTRATIONS BY
+
+ ANTOINETTE INGLIS
+
+
+
+
+ BOSTON
+
+ LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.
+
+ Published, August, 1918
+
+
+
+ COPYRIGHT, 1918,
+ BY LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+ _Dear Children, all the little words
+ These printed pages through,
+ They are a flock of little birds
+ I bring to sing to you.
+
+ Sometimes they sing of foolish things,
+ And other times they try
+ To tell their gladness when their wings
+ Soar up to seek the sky.
+
+ So, Sweethearts, do but kindly hark!
+ If but a sparrow throng,
+ Or if among them there's a lark,
+ To you their songs belong!_
+
+ * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+Up, Little Ones!
+
+Dandelions
+
+Our Puppies
+
+The Lost Balloon
+
+The Circus Procession
+
+May-Baskets
+
+The Picture-Book Giant
+
+Did You Ever?
+
+Decoration Day
+
+Chu-Chu Cars
+
+Fairy Rings
+
+The Firefly
+
+A Rain Song
+
+Fairies
+
+The Little Fir-Trees
+
+The Wren-House
+
+The Baby's Ride
+
+An Indian Raid
+
+The First Sleigh-Ride
+
+Sleepy Time
+
+When Bettie and Anne Went Walking
+
+The Bluebird
+
+The Organ-Grinder
+
+The New Moon
+
+Showery Time
+
+Easter Day
+
+The Sandman
+
+Dandelion Curls
+
+Pop-Corn
+
+The Rash Little Sparrow
+
+What If?
+
+Easter Eggs
+
+The Birds' Bath
+
+November Morning
+
+The Runaway
+
+Lost!
+
+The Queen's Page
+
+Our Tree-Toad
+
+In the Water-World
+
+Who Was It?
+
+Visiting Day
+
+A Valentine to Catherine
+
+Fireflies
+
+The Rainy Day
+
+The First Red-Bird
+
+The Weather-Vane
+
+The Swan
+
+Baby's Baking
+
+A Sure Sign
+
+Another Sure Sign
+
+The Robin's Bath
+
+The Frosted Pane
+
+The First Snow
+
+Grandfather Knows
+
+Sleigh-Bells
+
+The Red-Bird
+
+Wild Beasts
+
+Wherefore Wings?
+
+Basking
+
+With a May-Basket for Baby Agnes
+
+The Little Nest
+
+Christmas Candles
+
+A Song of the Christmas-Tree
+
+Our Kittens
+
+In July
+
+A Valentine to a Little Child
+
+Zip!
+
+A Little Carol
+
+Song
+
+The Three Candles
+
+ * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+Illustrations
+
+
+DANDELIONS
+
+Dandelions, dandelions, shining through the dew,
+Let the kings have Cloth of Gold, but let _us_
+have _you_! _Frontispiece_
+
+FAIRY RINGS
+
+See them dancing, dancing,
+While the silver moon
+Tips their swiftly glancing
+Little silver shoon!
+
+THE BIRDS' BATH
+
+When the sun shines warm and high
+Robins cluster round its brink
+
+CHRISTMAS CANDLES
+
+We can tell Him of our love
+If we set a light for Him
+
+ * * * * *
+
+
+
+
+Child Songs of Cheer
+
+UP, LITTLE ONES!
+
+
+ A robin redbreast, fluting there
+ Upon the apple-bough,
+ Is telling all the world how fair
+ Are apple-blossoms now;
+ The honey-dew its sweetness spills
+ From cuckoo-cups, and all
+ The crocuses and daffodils
+ Are drest for festival!
+
+ Such pretty things are to be seen,
+ Such pleasant things to do,
+ The April earth it is so green,
+ The April sky so blue,
+ The path from dawn to even-song
+ So joyous is to-day,
+ Up, little ones! and dance along
+ The lilac-scented way!
+
+
+
+
+DANDELIONS
+
+
+ Hey-a-day-a-day, my dear! Dandelion time!
+ Come, and let us make for them a pretty little rhyme!
+
+ See the meadows twinkling now, beautiful and bright
+ As the sky when through the blue shine the stars at night!
+
+ Once upon a time, folks say, mighty kings of old
+ Met upon a splendid field called "The Cloth of Gold."
+
+ But, we wonder, could it be there was ever seen
+ Brighter gold than glitters now in our meadows green?
+
+ Dandelions, dandelions, shining through the dew,
+ Let the kings have Cloth of Gold, but let _us_ have _you_!
+
+
+
+
+OUR PUPPIES
+
+
+ Little ears as soft as silk,
+ Little teeth as white as milk,
+ Little noses cool and pink,
+ Little eyes that blink and blink,
+ Little bodies round and fat,
+ Little hearts that pit-a-pat,
+ Surely prettier puppies never
+ Were before nor can be ever!
+
+
+
+
+THE LOST BALLOON
+
+
+ O dear! my purple toy balloon
+ Has flown away! and very soon
+ It will be high up as the moon!
+
+ And don't you think the man up there
+ Will wonder what it is, and stare?
+ Perhaps hell say, "_Well, I declare!_"
+
+ Or, maybe if it chance there are
+ Some little boys in yonder star,
+ And if it floats away so far,
+
+ Perhaps they'll jump up very high
+ And catch the cord as it goes by!
+ At any rate I hope they'll try!
+
+
+
+
+THE CIRCUS PROCESSION
+
+
+ _Oh, hurry! hurry!_ here they come,
+ The band in front with the big bass drum
+ And blaring bugles,--there they are,
+ On golden thrones in a golden car,
+ Tooting and fluting, oh, how grand!
+ Hi diddle, diddle!
+ The fife and the fiddle!
+ _Hurrah, hurrah_ for the circus band!
+
+ And the red-plumed horses, oh, see them prance
+ And daintily lift their hoofs and dance,
+ While beautiful ladies with golden curls
+ Are jingling their bridles of gold and pearls,
+ And close behind
+ Come every kind
+ Of animal cages great and small,
+ O how I wonder what's in them all!
+
+ Here's one that's open and glaring there
+ Is the shaggiest snow-white polar bear!
+ _Woof!_ but I wonder what we'd do
+ If his bars broke loose right now, don't you?
+ And O dear me!
+ Just look and see
+ That pink-cheeked lady in skirts of gauze
+ And the great big lion with folded paws!
+ O me! O my!
+ I'm glad that I
+ Am not in that lion's cage, because
+ _Suppose he'd open his horrible jaws!_
+ --But look! the clown is coming! Of course
+ Facing the tail of a spotted horse
+ And shouting out things to make folks laugh,
+ And grinning up at the tall giraffe
+ That placidly paces along and looks
+ Just like giraffes in the picture-books!
+
+ And there are the elephants, two and two,
+ Lumbering on as they always do!
+ The men who lead them look so small
+ I wonder the elephants mind at all
+ As they wag their queer
+ Long trunks, and peer
+ Through their beady eyes,--folks say they know
+ No end of things, and I'm sure it's so!
+ And you never must do a thing that's bad
+ Or that possibly might make an elephant mad,
+ For he'll never forgive you, it appears,
+ And will punish you sure, if it takes him _years!_
+ So do not stare
+ But take good care
+ To mind your manners, and always try
+ To smile politely as they go by!
+
+ But the camels don't care if you laugh at them
+ With their bumpy humps like a capital M,
+ They lurch and sway
+ And seem to say,
+ As they wrinkle their noses, long and gray,
+ "This swaggering stride is quite the plan,
+ It's the way we walked in the caravan!"
+
+ And now more cages come rumbling by
+ With glittering people throned on high;
+ So many spangles and precious things,
+ They surely must all be queens and kings!
+ They look so proud
+ Above the crowd,
+ O my, how fine it must feel to ride
+ On golden wagons that hide inside
+ Strange animals caught in cannibal isles
+ And brought in ships for a million miles!
+ But hark! it's near
+ The end, for hear
+ That sudden screeching in piercing key!
+ The steaming, screaming _cal-li-o-pe_!
+ Just plain pianos sound terribly tame
+ Beside this one with the wonderful name,
+ And wouldn't you love some day to sit
+ In a circus wagon and play on it?
+
+
+
+
+MAY-BASKETS
+
+
+ Let us take our baskets early
+ To the meadows green,
+ While the wild-flowers still are pearly
+ With the dewdrops' sheen.
+
+ Fill them full of blossoms rosy,
+ Violets and gay
+ Cowslips, every pretty posy
+ Welcoming the May.
+
+ Then our lovely loads we'll carry
+ Down the village street,
+ On each door, with laughter merry,
+ Hang a basket sweet.
+
+ Hey-a-day-day! It is spring now,
+ Lazy folks, awake!
+ See the pretty things we bring now
+ For the May-day's sake!
+
+
+
+
+THE PICTURE-BOOK GIANT
+
+
+ Once there was a fierce, defiant,
+ Greedy, grumpy, grizzly giant
+ In the pages of a picture-book, and he
+ Sometimes screamed, in sudden rages,
+ "I must jump out from these pages,
+ For this life's a much too humdrum one for me!
+ Fiddle-dee!
+ Yes, this life's a quite too quiet one for me!"
+
+ So one rainy day he did it,
+ Took the picture-book and hid it,
+ Stamped his foot, and shouting loudly,
+ "Now I'm free!"
+ Boldly started out, forgetting
+ That he could not stand a wetting!
+ He was just a paper giant, don't you see?
+ Dearie me!
+ Just a gaudy, picture giant, don't you see?
+
+
+
+
+DID YOU EVER?
+
+
+ Did you ever see a fairy in a rose-leaf coat and cap
+ Swinging in a cobweb hammock as he napped his noonday nap?
+
+ Did you ever see one waken very thirsty and drink up
+ All the honey-dew that glimmered in a golden buttercup?
+
+ Did you ever see one fly away on rainbow-twinkling wings?
+ If you did not, why, how comes it that you never see such things?
+
+
+
+
+DECORATION DAY
+
+
+ See the soldiers, little ones!
+ Hark the drummers' beat!
+ See them with their flags and guns
+ Marching down the street!
+
+ Tattered flags from out the wars,
+ Let us follow these
+ To the little stripes and stars
+ Twinkling through the trees.
+
+ Watch them waving through the grass
+ Where the heroes sleep!
+ Thither gently let us pass
+ On this day we keep.
+
+ Let us bring our blossoms, too,
+ All our gardens grow;
+ Lilacs honey-sweet with dew,
+ And the lilies' snow.
+
+ Every posy of the May,
+ Every bloomy stem,
+ Every bud that breaks to-day
+ Gather now for them.
+
+ Lay the lilies o'er them thus,
+ Lovingly, for so
+ Down they laid their lives for us,
+ Long and long ago.
+
+ Heap above them bud and bough;
+ Softly, ere we cease,
+ God, we pray Thee, gently now
+ Fold them in Thy peace!
+
+
+
+
+CHU-CHU CARS
+
+
+ Turn the chairs down in a row
+ Each behind the other, so;
+ _Chu-chu! Chu-chu!_ there they are,
+ Passenger and baggage-car,
+ _Chu-chu-chu!_ the Morris chair
+ Is the engine puffing there,
+ _Chu-chu! Chu-chu! Ting-a-ling!_
+ Don't you hear its big bell ring?
+ All aboard! Jump on! if you
+ Want to take this train. _Chu-chu!!_
+ Off we start now, rushing fast
+ Through the fields and valleys, past
+ Noisy cities, over bridges,
+ Hills and plains and mountain ridges,
+ _Chu-chu! Chu-chu! Chu-chu-chu!!_
+ At such speed it must be true
+ Since we started we have come
+ Most a million miles from home!
+ Jump off, some one! Quick! and go
+ To the pantry, for, you know,
+ We must have the cookie-jar
+ For our Pullman dining-car!
+
+
+
+
+FAIRY RINGS
+
+
+ Softly in the gloaming
+ Flitting through the vale,
+ Fairy folk are roaming
+ Over hill and dale.
+
+ Pixies in the hollow,
+ Elves upon the height,
+ Let us follow, follow
+ Through the paling light.
+
+ Follow, all unbidden,
+ To the grassy glade
+ Wrapped around and hidden
+ In the forest shade.
+
+ Hark the elfin tinkle
+ Of their little lutes!
+ Mark the golden twinkle
+ Of their fairy flutes!
+
+[Illustration: FAIRY RINGS]
+
+ See them dancing, dancing,
+ While the silver moon
+ Tips their swiftly glancing
+ Little silver shoon!
+
+ Tripping, tripping lightly,
+ Where their footprints fall,
+ Look! the grass is brightly
+ Growing green and tall!
+
+ Springing close, unbroken,
+ In a fairy ring,
+ For to-morrow's token
+ Of their frolicking!
+
+
+
+
+THE FIREFLY
+
+
+ Flash and flicker and fly away,
+ Trailing light as you flutter far,
+ Are you a lamp for the fairies, say?
+ Or a flake of fire from a falling star?
+
+
+
+
+A RAIN SONG
+
+
+ Tinkle, tinkle,
+ Lightly fall
+ On the peach buds, pink and small;
+ Tip the tiny grass, and twinkle
+ On the clover, green and tall.
+
+ Tinkle, tinkle,--
+ Faster now,
+ Little rain-drops, smite and sprinkle
+ Cherry-bloom and apple-bough!
+ Pelt the elms, and show them how
+ You can dash!
+ And splash! splash! splash!
+ While the thunder rolls and mutters,
+ And the lightnings flash and flash!
+ Then eddy into curls
+ Of a million misty swirls,
+ And thread the air with silver, and embroider it with pearls!
+
+ And patter, patter, patter
+ To a quicker time, and clatter
+ On the streaming window-pane;
+ Rain, rain,
+ On the leaves,
+ And the eaves,
+ And the turning weather-vane!
+
+ Rush in torrents from the tip
+ Of the gable-peak, and drip
+ In the garden-bed, and fill
+ All the cuckoo-cups, and pour
+ More and more
+ In the tulip-bowls, and still
+ Overspill
+ In a crystal tide until
+ Every yellow daffodil
+ Is flooded to its golden rim, and brimming o'er and o'er!
+
+ Then as gently as the low
+ Muffled whir of robin wings,
+ Or a sweep of silver strings,
+ Even so,
+ Take your airy April flight
+ Through the merry April light,
+ And melt into a mist of rainy music as you go!
+
+
+
+
+FAIRIES
+
+
+ Grandfather says that sometimes,
+ When stars are twinkling and
+ A new moon shines, there come times
+ When folks see fairy-land!
+
+ So when there's next a new moon,
+ I mean to watch all night!
+ Grandfather says a blue moon
+ Is best for fairy light,
+
+ And in a peach-bloom, maybe,
+ If I look I shall see
+ A little fairy baby
+ No bigger than a bee!
+
+
+
+
+THE LITTLE FIR-TREES
+
+
+ Hey! little evergreens,
+ Sturdy and strong!
+ Summer and autumn time
+ Hasten along;
+ Harvest the sunbeams, then,
+ Bind them in sheaves,
+ Range them, and change them
+ To tufts of green leaves.
+ Delve in the mellow mold,
+ Far, far below,
+ And so,
+ Little evergreens, grow!
+ Grow, grow!
+ Grow, little evergreens, grow!
+
+ Up, up so airily
+ To the blue sky,
+ Lift up your leafy tips
+ Stately and high;
+ Clasp tight your tiny cones,
+ Tawny and brown;
+ By and by, buffeting
+ Rains will pelt down;
+ By and by, bitterly
+ Chill winds will blow;
+ And so,
+ Little evergreens, grow!
+ Grow, grow!
+ Grow, little evergreens, grow!
+
+ Gather all uttermost
+ Beauty, because,--
+ Hark, till I tell it now!
+ How Santa Claus,
+ Out of the northern land,
+ Over the seas,
+ Soon shall come seeking you,
+ Evergreen trees!
+ Seek you with reindeer soon,
+ Over the snow;
+ And so,
+ Little evergreens, grow!
+ Grow, grow!
+ Grow, little evergreens, grow!
+
+ What if the maples flare
+ Flaunting and red,
+ You shall wear waxen white
+ Tapers instead!
+ What if now, otherwhere,
+ Birds are beguiled,
+ You shall yet nestle
+ The little Christ-child!
+ Ah! the strange splendor
+ The fir-trees shall know!
+ And so,
+ Little evergreens, grow!
+ Grow, grow!
+ Grow, little evergreens, grow!
+
+
+
+
+THE WREN-HOUSE
+
+
+ Yesterday I took my saw
+ And some bits of wood,
+ And I made a little house
+ Nicely as I could.
+
+ I put on a mossy-green
+ Little pointed roof,
+ And I cut a tiny door
+ That is pussy-proof.
+
+ For I hope some little wrens
+ To our yard will come
+ And will choose my little house
+ For their little home.
+
+ I shall hang it in the boughs
+ Of the apple-tree,
+ And I'm sure as rent for it
+ They will sing to me!
+
+
+
+
+THE BABY'S RIDE
+
+
+ Chee! Chee! Chickadee!
+ Sing-time and sun!
+ Aye, aye, baby-bye,
+ Springtime has begun!
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ In the little willow cart,
+ On a downy bed,
+ Pretty parasol of silk
+ Swinging overhead,
+
+ Let us go along the lane
+ Where a baby sees
+ Mighty tufts of grass, and weeds
+ Tall as forest trees!
+
+ Bluebird on the apple-bough,
+ Sing and sing and sing!
+ Sing your very sweetest now
+ For babyhood and spring!
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "Bah! Bah!" from the pasture,
+ And "Caw! Caw!" from the crow,
+ And bleating from the little calf
+ That has not learned to low.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Apple-buds, apple-buds breaking apart,
+ The baby looks upward with love-laden gaze;
+ Oh, shower some petals down here in his cart,
+ One honey-sweet cluster of pretty pink sprays!
+
+ Apple-buds, apple-buds, scornful and too
+ Vain of your loveliness, stay where you are!
+ The cheeks of the baby are pinker than you,
+ And finer and softer and sweeter by far!
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ See the pretty little lambs,
+ How they frisk and play!
+ See their silky fleeces shine
+ White as buds in May!
+
+ White as are the fleecy clouds
+ Softly blowing by--
+ What if they were little lambs
+ Playing in the sky?
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Robin on the peach-bough,
+ Swinging overhead,
+ Sing a little song and say
+ Why is your breast so red?
+
+ Why is your voice so sweet, and
+ Your song so merry, say?
+ And wherefore do you spread your wings
+ And quickly fly away?
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Ho, ho! see the queer little prints there
+ That cover the road, baby, look!
+ At the web-footed tangle that hints where
+ The ducks have gone down to the brook!
+
+ The Muscovy mammas that waddled
+ Zigzag, you can trace in their tracks,
+ And the dear little ducklings that toddled
+ And tumbled sometimes on their backs!
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Buttercup, buttercup, buttercup gold,
+ O give us a handful of riches to hold!
+
+ Ho, ho! laughs the baby, and grasps in his glee
+ His wealth, but soon shows what a spend-thrift is he!
+ --Nay, nay, he is king, though he never was crowned,
+ And royally scatters his gold on the ground!
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Bough of the willow-tree
+ Over the brook,
+ Down darts a kingfisher,
+ Look, baby, look!
+
+ Back on the willow-bough,
+ Fishing is done;
+ Happy and nappy now
+ There in the sun.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Happy and nappy the baby is, too,
+ Softly his eyelids droop over the blue,
+ Golden his curls on the white pillow lie,
+ Sleep, baby, sleep, baby, hush-a-by-bye.
+
+
+
+
+AN INDIAN RAID
+
+
+ Did you see some Indians passing,
+ Just a short while back?
+ Looks as if they must be massing
+ For a fierce attack!
+
+ Buckskin fringes, turkey-feather
+ Huge head-dresses and
+ Bows and arrows, altogether
+ Quite a frightful band!
+
+ From the lilac-bushes springing,
+ See them rushing! Ugh!
+ Awful war-whoops wildly ringing!
+ There'll be scalping, too!
+
+ In their fearful frenzy leaping,
+ It is very plain
+ Soon around us they'll be heaping
+ Mountains of the slain!
+
+ Soon their victims will be falling--
+ But, above the noise,
+ Hark! I hear somebody calling,
+ "Come to dinner, boys!"
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST SLEIGH-RIDE
+
+
+ O happy time of fleecy rime
+ And falling flakes, and O
+ The glad surprise in baby eyes
+ That never saw the snow!
+
+ Down shining ways the flying sleighs
+ Go jingling by, and see!
+ Beside the gate the horses wait
+ And neigh for you and me!
+
+
+
+
+SLEEPY TIME
+
+
+ Hey, baby! Ho, baby! here upon my knee,
+ See the firelight flicker over you and me!
+
+ See the tiny people basking in the glow,
+ Peering through the ruddy little coals, and so
+
+ How they dance and scamper! Merry fairy folk!
+ Little sparks for spangles, little wings of smoke!
+
+ Come baby, come baby, nestle in my arms;
+ Hear the purring flames now sing their sleepy charms.
+
+ All the firelight fairies, all the drowsy elves,
+ In the downy ashes cover up themselves.
+
+ And I fold the little blanket over you;
+ Bye baby, my baby, let us slumber too.
+
+
+
+
+WHEN BETTIE AND ANNE WENT WALKING
+
+
+ When they took their dollies walking,
+ They were both so busy talking,
+ (They had not met for half an hour and so had much to say)
+ That they heedlessly kept going
+ Down the shady streets, not knowing,
+ Till they wanted to come back again, they could not find the way!
+
+ In their fright they felt forlorner
+ Every time they turned a corner,
+ And they wailed to one another, "Oh, whatever shall we do?
+ A big bear might come to bite us,
+ Or a dreadful dog to fight us,
+ Or the wicked gipsies get us! _Oh, boo-hoo! Boo-hoo! Boo-hoo!_"
+
+ But this story, though a sad one,
+ Has an end that's not a bad one,
+ For at last somebody found them as they bade the world good-by;
+ They took their dollies home again,
+ And vowed they'd never roam again,
+ And their mothers hugged and kissed them, saying, "There, my dears,
+ don't cry!"
+
+
+
+
+THE BLUEBIRD
+
+
+ To-day at dawn there twinkled through
+ The pearly mist a flash of blue
+ So dazzling bright I thought the sky
+ Shone through the rifted clouds on high,
+ Till, by and by,
+ A note so honey-sweet I heard,
+ I knew that bright flash was a bird!
+
+
+
+
+THE ORGAN-GRINDER
+
+
+ Hark! I hear the organ-grinder
+ Coming down the street,
+ And the sudden clatter-patter
+ Of the children's feet!
+
+ Come, oh, let us run to meet him!
+ Did you ever hear
+ Tunes so gay as he is playing,
+ Or so sweet and clear?
+
+ See the brown-faced little monkey,
+ Impudent and bold,
+ With his little scarlet jacket
+ Braided all in gold!
+
+ And his tiny cap and tassel
+ Bobbing to and fro,
+ Look, oh, look! he plucks it off now,
+ Bowing very low.
+
+ And he's passing it politely--
+ Can it be for _pay_?
+ O dear me! I have no penny!
+ Let us run away!
+
+
+
+
+THE NEW MOON
+
+
+ Pretty new moon, little new moon,
+ Now, as first I look at you,
+ I must make a wish, for wise folks
+ Say it surely will come true!
+
+ Little new moon, pretty new moon,
+ I wish--but I must not tell!
+ For if any one should hear it,
+ Wise folks say it breaks the spell!
+
+
+
+
+SHOWERY TIME
+
+
+ The April rain-drops tinkle
+ In cuckoo-cups of gold,
+ And warm south winds unwrinkle
+ The buds the peach-boughs hold.
+
+ In countless fluted creases
+ The little elm-leaves show,
+ While white as carded fleeces
+ The dogwood blossoms blow.
+
+ A rosy robe is wrapping
+ The early red-bud trees;
+ But still the haws are napping,
+ Nor heed the honey-bees.
+
+ And still in lazy sleeping
+ The apple-buds are bound,
+ But tulip-tips are peeping
+ From out the garden ground.
+
+ And yonder, gayly swinging
+ Upon the turning vane,
+ A robin redbreast singing
+ Makes merry at the rain!
+
+
+
+
+EASTER DAY
+
+
+ Christ the Lord is risen to-day!
+ Angels rolled the stone away
+ From the tomb wherein He lay!
+
+ Little children, come and sing,
+ "Glory, glory to the King,
+ Christ the Lord of everything!"
+
+
+
+
+THE SANDMAN
+
+
+ The Sandman! hark, I hear him!
+ He's coming up the stair,
+ And everybody near him
+ Is nodding, I declare!
+
+ He's peeping in the door now,
+ And first of all he spies,
+ As he has done before now,
+ The little children's eyes!
+
+ Then quickly does he throw it,
+ His golden sleepy-sand,
+ And all, before they know it,
+ Are off for sleepy-land!
+
+
+
+
+DANDELION CURLS
+
+
+ Ah, ha, ha, now! who comes here
+ Wreathed in flowers of gold and queer
+ Tiny tangled curls of green
+ Gayly bobbing in between?
+
+ Pretty token of the spring!
+ Hark! we hear the bluebirds sing
+ When we thus see little girls
+ Decked in dandelion curls.
+
+
+
+
+POP-CORN
+
+
+ _Pop! Pop!--Poppetty-pop!_
+ Shake and rattle and rattle and shake
+ The golden grains as they bounce and break
+ To fluffy puffiness--_Poppetty-pop!_
+ Bursting and banging the popper's top!
+ _Poppetty-pop!
+ Pop! Pop!_
+
+ The yellow kernels, oh, see them grow
+ White as cotton or flakes of snow!
+ _Pop! Pop!_
+ O-ho, how they frolic and fly about
+ And turn themselves suddenly inside out!
+ _Pop-pop-poppetty! Pop-pop-pop!_
+ The popper's full and we'll have to stop;
+ Pile the bowl with the tempting treat,
+ Children, come, it is time to eat!
+
+
+
+
+THE RASH LITTLE SPARROW
+
+
+ Rash little sparrow
+ Up in the nest;
+ Feathers not long enough,
+ Wee wings not strong enough!
+ Poor little sparrow!
+ Poor little breast!
+
+
+
+
+WHAT IF?
+
+
+ When I see the new moon lightly
+ Through cloud ripples slip,
+ Then I'm sure that shining brightly
+ It's a fairy ship!
+
+ What if in it we were sailing
+ Far and far away,
+ With a wake of silver trailing,
+ Till the golden day?
+
+ Why, we'd fly back home together
+ Safely from the sky,
+ For the moon's a fairy feather
+ When the sun is high!
+
+
+
+
+EASTER EGGS
+
+
+ Seven little nests of hay
+ We have made, for Easter day
+ Is to-morrow, and you know
+ We must have them ready, so
+ When the Rabbit comes she'll see
+ We expected her, that we
+ Children tried our very best
+ Each to make the nicest nest.
+
+ One is in the lilac-bush,
+ Near the ground--last year a thrush
+ Built a nest there--let me see,
+ Two are by the apple-tree,
+ In the clover--that makes three--
+ One beside the playhouse door,
+ --Three plus one, that must be four--
+ Two are in the tulip-bed--
+ Was it seven that I said?
+ Oh, yes! six I've counted, and
+ One is in our pile of sand.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Come and see! Oh, hurry, hurry!
+ For the Rabbit, kind and furry,
+ Has been here again and laid
+ Eggs in every nest we made!
+ Purple, orange, red, and blue,
+ Pink and green and yellow, too,
+ Like a bunch of finest flowers
+ Ever seen, and all are ours!
+ And oh, _look!_ What _do_ you think!
+ Here our names are in white ink,
+ All spelled nicely so we know
+ Just where every egg should go!
+ Is it not surprising, quite,
+ How well Easter Rabbits write?
+
+
+
+
+THE BIRDS' BATH
+
+
+ In our garden we have made
+ Such a pretty little pool,
+ Lined with pebbles neatly laid,
+ Filled with water clean and cool.
+
+ [Illustration: THE BIRDS' BATH]
+
+ When the sun shines warm and high
+ Robins cluster round its brink,
+ Never one comes flying by
+ But will flutter down to drink.
+
+ Then they splash and splash and splash,
+ Spattering little showers bright
+ All around, till off they flash
+ Singing sweetly their delight.
+
+
+
+
+NOVEMBER MORNING
+
+
+ A tingling, misty marvel
+ Blew hither in the night,
+ And now the little peach-trees
+ Are clasped in frozen light.
+
+ Upon the apple-branches
+ An icy film is caught,
+ With trailing threads of gossamer
+ In pearly patterns wrought.
+
+ The autumn sun, in wonder,
+ Is gayly peering through
+ This silver-tissued network
+ Across the frosty blue.
+
+ The weather-vane is fire-tipped,
+ The honeysuckle shows
+ A dazzling icy splendor,
+ And crystal is the rose.
+
+ Around the eaves are fringes
+ Of icicles that seem
+ To mock the summer rainbows
+ With many-colored gleam.
+
+ Along the walk, the pebbles
+ Are each a precious stone;
+ The grass is tasseled hoarfrost,
+ The clover jewel-sown.
+
+ Such sparkle, sparkle, sparkle
+ Fills all the frosty air,
+ Oh, can it be that darkness
+ Is ever anywhere!
+
+
+
+
+THE RUNAWAY
+
+
+ A frantic clatter of horses' feet!
+ A runaway's coming down the street!
+ Flurry, scurry,
+ Children, hurry!
+ Drop your playthings! Quick! don't wait!
+ Run and get within the gate!
+ Push the baby in the door,
+ Scramble in yourselves before
+ --_Whoa! Whoa!_
+ There they go!
+ Pell-mell rushing, snorting, quaking,
+ Wagon rumbling, harness breaking,
+ Frightened so they cannot know
+ Everybody's shrieking "_Whoa!_"
+ O my, don't cry!
+ Whiz, bang, they've galloped by!
+ No one hurt, but horses dashed
+ Round a post and wagon smashed!
+ Dear me! Dear me!
+ When a runaway we see,
+ Children, too, must run, oh, fast!
+ Run and hide as it goes past!
+
+
+
+
+LOST!
+
+
+ "Peep! Peep! Peep!" Poor little chick!
+ Little cry so weak and small,
+ Meadow grass so tall and thick,
+ And the clover tufts so tall!
+
+ Little heart in sore distress,
+ Longing for the mother wing;
+ Through the weedy wilderness
+ Searching for its sheltering!
+
+
+
+
+THE QUEEN'S PAGE
+
+
+ Once I was a little page
+ To a May-day queen,
+ And I wore a little coat
+ Made of Lincoln green.
+
+ Oh, the queen was beautiful!
+ And she had a bright
+ Crown of golden cuckoo-buds
+ And violets blue and white.
+
+ On the step beside her throne
+ I sat very still,
+ Ready, as a page should be,
+ To obey her will.
+
+ And before us little girls,
+ Each with garlands gay,
+ Round a May-pole danced and sang
+ Almost all the day.
+
+
+
+
+OUR TREE-TOAD
+
+
+ Grandfather says the tree-toad,
+ That to our yard has come,
+ Is just a little wee toad
+ No bigger than his thumb!
+
+ And that his coat's so queer it
+ Can turn from green to blue!
+ Whatever color's near it,
+ Why, that's its color, too!
+
+ And then Grandfather snickers
+ And says, "Would you suppose
+ He climbs with little stickers
+ On all his little toes?
+
+ "And don't you wish your toes now
+ Were fixed like his? For, see,
+ Right up the elm he goes now
+ And sticks tight to the tree!"
+
+ "But then," he says, "O dear me!
+ If all the little boys
+ Could _screech_ as loud, I fear me
+ There'd be a dreadful noise!"
+
+
+
+
+IN THE WATER-WORLD
+
+
+ Down among the water-weeds,
+ Darting through the grass,
+ Round about the tasseled reeds,
+ See the minnows pass!
+ See the little turtles there,
+ Hiding, half asleep,
+ Tucked in tangled mosses where
+ Tiny crayfish creep!
+
+ Watch the trailing grasses string
+ Strands of purple shells
+ That the lazy ripples ring,
+ Sweet as silver bells;
+ Watch the sunshine sift and drift
+ Down the eddy whirls,
+ Whence the laden whiteweeds lift
+ Loads of blossom pearls;
+
+ While the limpid shadows slip
+ Softly in between,
+ And the pussy-willows dip
+ Lightly in the green
+ Of the mocking trees that grow
+ Down the water-sky,
+ Flecked with fleecy clouds that blow
+ Where the reed-birds fly.
+
+ Oh, such marvels manifold
+ Fill the summer stream,
+ Such enticing things untold
+ Through the ripples gleam,
+ If you could a moment turn
+ Into what you wish,
+ Would it not be fun to be
+ Yonder little fish?
+
+
+
+
+WHO WAS IT?
+
+
+ Of course I've heard the moon's green cheese,
+ But will somebody tell me, please,
+ Who was it took so big a bite
+ There's scarcely any left to-night?
+
+
+
+
+VISITING DAY
+
+
+ I'll wear the striped skirt that trails,
+ And you the flowered one,
+ And we will take our parasols
+ And walk out in the sun.
+
+ We'll leave our dolly-carts at home,
+ For ladies, when they call,
+ Must not have children with them, no,
+ That would not do at all.
+
+ And I'll be "Mrs. Wilkinson,"
+ And you'll be "Mrs. Brown,"
+ And we will call and call and call
+ On every one in town!
+
+
+
+
+A VALENTINE TO CATHERINE
+
+
+ If you will be my True-Love,
+ I'll tell you what I'll do,
+ I'll ask a little bluebird
+ To sing a song to you.
+
+ When first you see a violet
+ And softly pricking through
+ The garden-bed come crocuses
+ And golden tulips, too,
+
+ Then watch! for he'll be coming,
+ The little bird of blue;
+ He'll sing, "I love you, Sweetheart,
+ It's true, true, true!"
+
+
+
+
+FIREFLIES
+
+
+ Look! Look down in the garden how
+ The firefly lights are flitting now!
+ A million tiny sparks I know
+ Flash through the pinks and golden-glow,
+ And I am very sure that all
+ Have come to light a fairy ball,
+ And if I could stay up I'd see
+ How gay the fairy folks can be!
+
+
+
+
+THE RAINY DAY
+
+
+ Let's sail all day, away, away
+ To the splendid Spanish Main
+ And the sultry seas of the Caribbees
+ And skies that never rain!
+
+ As pirates bold with bags of gold
+ And cutlasses and things,
+ We'll pack doubloons and silver spoons
+ In chests with iron rings.
+
+ And these we'll carry and secretly bury
+ In cannibal isles afar;
+ Like Captain Kidd, when they're safely hid
+ We won't tell where they are.
+
+ Let's sail all day, away, away
+ To the splendid Spanish Main
+ And the sultry seas of the Caribbees
+ --But at night sail home again!
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST RED-BIRD
+
+
+ I heard a song at daybreak,
+ So honey-sweet and clear,
+ The essence of all joyous things
+ Seemed mingling in its cheer.
+
+ The frosty world about me
+ I searched with eager gaze,
+ But all was slumber-bound and wrapped
+ In violet-tinted haze.
+
+ Then suddenly a sunbeam
+ Shot slanting o'er the hill,
+ And once again from out the sky
+ I heard that honied trill.
+
+ And there upon a poplar,
+ Poised at its topmost height,
+ I saw a little singer clad
+ In scarlet plumage bright.
+
+ The poplar branches quivered,
+ By dawn winds lightly blown,
+ And like a breeze-swept poppy-flower
+ The red-bird rocked and shone.
+
+ The blue sky, and his feathers
+ Flashed o'er by golden light,
+ Oh, all my heart with rapture thrilled,
+ It was so sweet a sight!
+
+
+
+
+THE WEATHER-VANE
+
+
+ Turn, turn, when pelting rain
+ Rushes down the window-pane;
+ Turn, turn, and turn again
+ When the sun shines, weather-vane!
+
+ Fie! Fie! to always be
+ Emblem of uncertainty!
+ Followed by the restless sea,
+ Changeful moons may wax and wane,
+ Yet the moons and sea-tides, too,
+ Constant are compared to you!
+ Fickle still you must remain
+ Long as winds blow, weather-vane!
+
+
+
+
+THE SWAN
+
+
+ Stately swan, so proud and white
+ Glistening in the morning light,
+ Come and tell me is it true
+ That a snow-white swan like you,
+ Guided by bright golden chains
+ In his beak for bridle reins,
+ Once upon a time from far
+ Fabled lands where fairies are
+ Brought a magic boat wherein
+ Rode the brave knight Lohengrin?
+
+ Stately swan, so proud and white
+ Glistening in the morning light,
+ If you only wore a gold
+ Harness, like that swan of old,
+ And if trailing in your wake
+ Sailing on the silver lake
+ Was a boat of magic and
+ You could float to fairy-land,
+ Then I'd jump in and begin
+ Traveling like Lohengrin!
+
+
+
+
+BABY'S BAKING
+
+
+ So, so, spade and hoe,
+ Little pile of sand;
+ See it turning into dough
+ In the baby's hand!
+
+ Little pie with crimpy crust,
+ Set it in the sun;
+ Sugar it with powdered dust,
+ And bake it till it's done.
+
+
+
+
+A SURE SIGN
+
+
+ When you see upon the walk
+ Circles newly made of chalk,
+ And around them all the day
+ Little boys in eager play
+ Rolling marbles, agates fine,
+ Banded, polished, red as wine,
+ Marbles crystal as the dew,
+ Each with rainbows twisted through,
+ Marbles gay in painted clay,
+ Flashing, twinkling in your way,
+ When the walk has blossomed so,
+ Surely every one must know
+ None need wonder who has heard
+ Robin, wren, or Peter-bird;
+ Sure the sign as song or wing,
+ It is spring!
+
+
+
+
+ANOTHER SURE SIGN
+
+
+ When pink-cheeked on every hand
+ Little girls are seen to stand
+ Turning skipping ropes,--_swish-swash!_--
+ While their laughing playmates run
+ Jumping over,--oh, what fun!--
+ _Swish-swash! Swish-swash!_
+ Two and two now, see them dash!
+ _One, two, one, two,_
+ Round they scamper, safely through,
+ _Swish-swash!_ such merry skipping,
+ _One, two,_--some one is tripping!
+ Ah, she's out now and must pay
+ Turning rope while others play!
+ See the bobbing golden curls,
+ Little skirts in rhythmic swirls
+ Rising, falling, to the beat
+ Of the little skipping feet!
+ When these pretty sights appear,
+ It is surely very clear
+ April's here!
+
+
+
+
+THE ROBIN'S BATH
+
+
+ A flash and flicker of dripping wings,
+ A wet red breast that glows
+ Bright as the newly opened bud
+ The first red poppy shows,
+ A sparkle of flying rainbow drops,
+ A glint of golden sun
+ On ruffled feathers, a snatch of song,
+ And the robin's bath is done.
+
+
+
+
+THE FROSTED PANE
+
+
+ When I wakened, very early,
+ All my window-pane was pearly
+ With a sparkling little picture traced in lines of shining white;
+ Some magician with a gleaming
+ Frosty brush, while I was dreaming,
+ Must have come and by the starlight worked through all the quiet night.
+
+ He had painted frosty people,
+ And a frosty church and steeple,
+ And a frosty bridge and river tumbling over frosty rocks;
+ Frosty mountain peaks that glimmered,
+ And fine frosty ferns that shimmered,
+ And a frosty little pasture full of frosty little flocks.
+
+ It was all touched in so lightly
+ And it glittered, oh, so whitely,
+ That I gazed and gazed in wonder at the lovely painted pane;
+ Then the sun rose high and higher
+ With his wand of golden fire
+ Till, alas, my picture vanished and I looked for it in vain!
+
+
+
+
+THE FIRST SNOW
+
+
+ The snow! the snow! Whoop! Hooray! Ho! Ho!
+ Plunge in the deep drifts and toss it up so!
+ Rollick and roll in the feathery fleece
+ Plucked out of the breasts of the marvelous geese
+ By the little old woman who lives in the sky;
+ Have ever you seen her? No, neither have I!
+
+
+
+
+GRANDFATHER KNOWS
+
+
+ Grandfather says of all things
+ The silliest he's heard
+ Is that some children call things
+ They've never seen, "absurd!"
+ And have their doubts of true things,
+ And won't believe, because
+ They say, "If you but knew things,
+ There _is_ no Santa Claus!"
+
+ Grandfather says he _knows_ him,
+ And sees him every year,
+ And Santa often shows him
+ The playthings he brings here;
+ He says, too, Santa told him
+ If any girls and boys
+ Laugh at and won't uphold him,
+ They'll not get any toys!
+
+
+
+
+SLEIGH-BELLS
+
+
+ Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle!
+ Happy winter-time!
+ Baby's eyes a-twinkle,
+ Hear the sleigh-bells chime!
+
+ Each one rings a merry
+ Ting-a-ling-a-ling!
+ For a sleigh-bell fairy
+ Hides inside to sing.
+
+ See them quake and quiver,
+ Up and downward tossed,
+ Seems as if they shiver
+ In the nipping frost!
+
+ Shiver into laughter,
+ Jolly little elves!
+ Till we laugh thereafter,
+ Merry as themselves!
+
+
+
+
+THE RED-BIRD
+
+
+ Swept lightly by the south wind
+ The elm-leaves softly stirred,
+ And in their pale green clusters
+ There straightway bloomed a bird!
+
+ His glossy feathers glistened
+ With dyes as richly red
+ As any tulip flaming
+ From out the garden bed.
+
+ But ah, unlike the tulips,
+ In joyous strain, ere long,
+ This red-bird flower unfolded
+ A heart of golden song!
+
+
+
+
+WILD BEASTS
+
+
+ I will be a lion
+ And you shall be a bear,
+ And each of us will have a den
+ Beneath a nursery chair;
+ And you must growl and growl and growl,
+ And I will roar and roar,
+ And then--why, then--you'll growl again,
+ And I will roar some more!
+
+
+
+
+WHEREFORE WINGS?
+
+
+ Heigho, sparrow! Reckless of the rain;
+ When chill the cheerless wind grows,
+ Chirping might and main!
+ Is it naught, then, when the rose
+ Blows again?
+
+ Beating, sleeting on your draggled coat!
+ Surely, 'tis enough to drown
+ Any happy note
+ Nestling in that downy brown
+ Little throat.
+
+ Ah me, sparrow! Had I but your power,
+ Think you in the freezing sleet
+ I would waste an hour?
+ --I'd sing my sweetest to a sweet
+ Orange flower!
+
+
+
+
+BASKING
+
+
+ Frosty winter chased away
+ By the blessed sun,
+ Down upon the garden walks
+ Basking has begun.
+
+ Oh, the happy, happy heat!
+ How the pulses stir,
+ How it warms the hearts beneath
+ Little coats of fur!
+
+ Oh, the happy pussy-cats!
+ Days to doze and doze,
+ And what pleasant dreams they dream
+ Only pussy knows.
+
+
+
+
+WITH A MAY-BASKET FOR BABY AGNES
+
+
+ Peach-buds to meet thee,
+ Robins to greet thee,
+ Hey, little Sweetheart! and May morning, hey!
+ Sunbeam and sing time,
+ Bluebird and wing time,
+ This time is kiss time for sweethearts, I say!
+
+ Dearest, God bless thee,
+ Fold and caress thee,
+ Unto thy cradle may good fairies fly!
+ Fortune be fair for thee,
+ This is my prayer for thee,
+ Lullaby, little one, hush-a-by-bye!
+
+ So for a love now
+ Token thereof now,
+ Sweet, see this tiny May-basket I bring;
+ Posies to play with,
+ Pinks to be gay with,
+ Dear little baby of sunshine and spring!
+
+
+
+
+THE LITTLE NEST
+
+
+ A little picture haunts me;
+ It comes and comes again;
+ It is a tiny bird's-nest,
+ All ragged from the rain.
+
+ It clings within a birch-tree
+ Upon the moorland's edge,
+ Between the barren branches,
+ Above the swaying sedge.
+
+ The sky is gray behind it,
+ And when the north winds blow,
+ The birch-tree bends and shivers,
+ And tosses to and fro.
+
+ I wonder, does it haunt them,
+ The birds that flew away?
+ And will they come to seek it,
+ Some sunny summer day?
+
+ I wonder, does some redbreast
+ Upon an orange-bough,
+ Still picture it as plainly
+ As I can see it now?
+
+ Ah me! I would forget it,
+ Yet still, with sense of pain,
+ I see this little bird's-nest
+ Within the driving rain.
+
+
+
+
+CHRISTMAS CANDLES
+
+
+ When the Christ-child comes again
+ Softly down the street to-night,
+ Twinkling through the window pane
+ Let our candles shed their light.
+
+ Though the clouds are dark above
+ And the golden stars are dim,
+ We can tell Him of our love
+ If we set a light for Him.
+
+ Oh, the blessed Christ-child dear,
+ In His robe of shining white,
+ Let our candles give Him cheer
+ As He passes by to-night!
+
+
+
+
+A SONG OF THE CHRISTMAS-TREE
+
+[Illustration: CHRISTMAS CANDLES]
+
+ We can tell Him of our love
+ If we set a light for Him.
+
+
+ Hurrah! Hurrah! for the Christmas-tree
+ With its glory and glitter and mystery!
+ Its twinkling candles that bud and bloom
+ Like strange bright flowers in the darkened room,
+ Its glistening gold and silver balls,
+ Its candy canes and its blue-eyed dolls,
+ The sugary fruits it bears,--for oh,
+ Where else do such wonderful sweetmeats grow?--
+ Its tasseled horns and its pop-corn strings
+ And all its myriad marvelous things!
+ O-ho! and ah-ha!
+ And a hip hurrah!
+ For our dear and beautiful tree, because
+ It grew in the gardens of Santa Claus
+
+ And he brought it here in his reindeer sleigh
+ From ever and ever so far away!
+ _So, children, come, let us make a ring
+ And all clasp hands as we dance and sing
+ To the blessed tree and the blessed night
+ When the Christ-child walks in the candles' light!_
+
+ Hurrah! Hurrah! for the Christmas-tree
+ That Santa Claus brought to you and me!
+ He cut it down with a silver axe--
+ There's a tree in each of his million packs!--
+ And carried it safely over the snow
+ And down our chimney and here, you know;
+ Its golden cobwebs that glint and gleam
+ He took from a lovely Christmas dream
+ And tangled them over it till, behold,
+ It shines like the fabled Fleece of Gold!
+
+ Oh, Santa Claus, here's
+ A thrice three cheers
+ For garlands green and berries of red,
+ And mistletoe clustering overhead,
+ For the joy of our Christmas festival!
+ But our beautiful tree, it is best of all!
+ _And circling still in a merry ring
+ We'll still clasp hands as we dance and sing
+ To the blessed tree and the blessed night
+ When the Christ-child walks in the candles' light!_
+
+ Hurrah! Hurrah! for the Christmas-tree!
+ And look, O look to its tip and see
+ The feathery slim fir leaves and where,
+ In the topmost boughs, is the image fair
+ Of the Christ-child nestling amid the green
+ And the little brown cones that peep between!
+
+ And high above Him glittering bright
+ A gold star sparkles with golden light,
+ And we children think, as we gaze on them,
+ Of the wonderful Star of Bethlehem,
+ Of the lovely Star
+ And the Kings who far,
+ Oh, far, came seeking a Babe and brought
+ Their love and worship to Him they sought,
+ And made Him gifts, as the gifts we make
+ With loving hearts for that Baby's sake.
+ _Oh, come, come all, and join the ring!
+ Let all clasp hands as we dance and sing
+ To the blessed tree and the blessed night
+ When the Christ-child walks in the candles' light!_
+
+
+
+
+OUR KITTENS
+
+
+ Our kittens have the softest fur,
+ And the sweetest little purr,
+ And such little velvet paws
+ With such cunning little claws,
+ And blue eyes, just like the sky!
+ (_Must_ they turn green, by and by?)
+ Two are striped like tigers, three
+ Are as black as black can be,
+ And they run so fast and play
+ With their tails, and are so gay,
+ Is it not a pity that
+ Each must grow into a cat?
+
+
+
+
+IN JULY
+
+
+ Let us find a shady wady
+ Pretty little brook;
+ Let us have some candy handy,
+ And a picture-book.
+
+ There all day we'll stay and play and
+ Never mind the heat,
+ While the water gleaming, streaming,
+ Ripples round our feet.
+
+ And we'll gather curly pearly
+ Mussel-shells while bright
+ Frightened minnows darting, parting,
+ Scurry out of sight.
+
+ What if, what if,--heigho! my oh!--
+ All the "ifs" were true,
+ And the little fishes wishes,
+ Now, what would you do?
+
+
+
+
+A VALENTINE TO A LITTLE CHILD
+
+
+ Dear heart, on this thrice-blessed day,
+ An thou my sweetheart be,
+ The rose of love shall bide alway
+ Upon the red-rose tree.
+
+ And in the garden of my heart
+ So ceaselessly shall shine,
+ The little birds will know thou art
+ Mine own true Valentine.
+
+ And I will bid them wing and sing
+ To all good winds that blow,
+ That to thy little feet they bring
+ All blessings, even so.
+
+ And o'er thy cradle I will coax,
+ By every lucky charm,
+ The friendship of the fairy folks
+ To fold thee from all harm.
+
+ So may they hover round thy head
+ And gently thereupon,
+ As doth the April sunshine, shed
+ Most gracious benison.
+
+ And all fair gifts that Fortune hath,
+ I'll pray she promise these,
+ And that she loose about thy path
+ All sweet influences.
+
+ Then here's a kiss! and there's a kiss!
+ And kisses, one, two, three!
+ I seal them in the folds of this,
+ And speed them unto thee!
+
+
+
+
+ZIP!
+
+
+ When we went to drive the cows home
+ Down the lane to-day,
+ There was such a funny bunny
+ Jumped across the way!
+
+ All we saw as he ran past us,
+ Faster than a quail,
+ Was his snow-white fuzzy-wuzzy
+ Little cotton tail!
+
+
+
+
+A LITTLE CAROL
+
+
+ Welcome, little Brother!
+ Lowly, holy One!
+ Hail thee, Virgin Mother,
+ More than any other
+ Blessed in thy Son!
+
+ Child, since the poor manger
+ Once thou didst not scorn,
+ Rest thee, little Stranger,
+ Folded from all danger,
+ In our hearts new-born!
+
+ Nestle thus, we pray thee,
+ In our love's caress;
+ Fain we are to pay thee
+ Worship, and obey thee,
+ Babe, and Prince no less!
+
+
+
+
+SONG
+
+
+ Honey-dew drippity-drops for a feast,
+ Dreams of delight when the feasting has ceased,
+ Poppy and rose,
+ Drain them and doze;
+ This is a song that the butterfly knows.
+
+
+
+
+THE THREE CANDLES
+
+
+ When the Christmas-tide drew nigh,
+ On a shelf three candles bright,
+ Two were red and one was white,
+ Waited for who came to buy.
+
+ Said the first one, "I shall be
+ Chosen for a Christmas-tree!"
+ Said the second, "I shall light
+ Christ Jesus on His way to-night!"
+ Then the third one sighed, "Ah me,
+ I know not what my lot will be!"
+
+ When the dark fell, bright and gay
+ The first candle burned away,
+ Red as all the berries red
+ On the holly overhead,
+ While the children in their glee
+ Danced around the Christmas-tree.
+
+ And the second, twinkling bright,
+ Poured forth all its golden light
+ Through a window decked with green
+ Garlands and red ribbons' sheen,
+ So the Christ-child when He came
+ Might be guided by its flame.
+
+ But the third one in the gloom
+ Of a bare and cheerless room
+ Softly burned where long had lain
+ A poor little child in pain,
+ And the baby in its bed
+ By the light was comforted.
+
+ When the Christ-child passed that night
+ All three candles gave Him light,
+ But the brightest was the spark
+ By the baby in the dark.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Child Songs of Cheer, by Evaleen Stein
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