Elf fighting a snail
List in the starlight, tender,—List in the moonlight's splendor,—For a whirring, like hurrahing, in the glen,Far and near.'Tis the elves who, looking backTo their giant-killer, Jack,Tell his story to each other, funny men!With a cheer.
————————
TheMayor of Scuttleton burned his noseTrying to warm his copper toes;He lost his money and spoiled his willBy signing his name with an icicle-quill;He went bare-headed, and held his breath,And frightened his grandame most to death;He loaded a shovel, and tried to shoot,And killed the calf in the leg of his boot;He melted a snow-bird, and formed the habitOf dancing jigs with a sad Welsh rabbit;He lived on taffy, and taxed the town;And read his newspaper upside down;Then he sighed, and hung his hat on a feather,And bade the townspeople come together;But the worst of it all was, nobody knewWhat the Mayor of Scuttleton next would do.
————————
Firein the window! flashes in the pane!Fire on the roof-top! blazing weather-vane!Turn about, weather-vane! put the fire out!The sun's going down, sir, I haven't a doubt.
————————
boy holding hands over child in high-chair's eyes
Hecame behind me, and covered my eyes,"Who is this?" growled he, so sly,"Why, Cousin Jeremy, how can I tell,When my eyes are shut?" said I.
————————
Girl carrying bucket
LittleJenny with a pailTripping to the spring;Little Jack astride a railLaughed to hear her sing.
boy on log
Little Jenny softly said,"I'm tired as I can be."But Jack was sure that the little maidSaid, "Carry my pail for me."
————————
tree and birdtree and birdtree and bird
Bye, baby, night is come,And the sun is going homeBye, baby, bye!All the flowers have shut their eyes;On the grass a shadow lies;Bye, baby, bye!Bye, baby, birds are sleeping;One by one the stars are peeping;Bye, baby, bye!In the far-off sky they twinkle,While the cows come tinkle, tinkle;Bye, baby, bye!Bye, baby, mother holds thee;Loving, tender care infolds thee;Bye, baby, bye!Angels in thy dreams caress thee;Through the darkness guard and bless thee;Bye, baby, bye!
————————
Littlewhite feathers, filling the air—Little white feathers! how came ye there?"We came from the cloud-birds sailing so high;They're shaking their white wings up in the sky."Little white feathers, how swift you go!Little white feathers, I love you so!"We are swift because we have work to do;But hold up your face, and we'll kiss you true."
————————
Oh, where are all the good little girls,—Where are they all to-day?And where are all the good little boys?Tell me, somebody, pray.Safe in their fathers' and mothers' heartsThe girls are stowed away;And where the girls are, look for the boys,—Or so I've heard folk say.
————————
OneChristmas Eve a little maidInto a fire-lit parlor strayed;And there on a chair lay the pretty songHer sister had sung her,—Dingle-dong!That rang like Christmas bells.Dingle, dingle, ting, dong!So sweet and clear, so warm and strongDingle, dingle, ting, dong!Merry Christmas bells."I'll play it!" said the little maid;"The blaze is bright, I'm not afraid!I'll play it on the chair, and sing."So down she sat, and dingle, ting,The ready Christmas bells,Dingle, dingle, ting, dong!Sounded forth so sweet and long,—Dingle, dingle, ting, dong!Happy Christmas bells."It's darker!" thought the little maid;"But never mind, I'm not afraid!For Jesus once, in Galilee,Was just a little child like me.He loves the Christmas bells."Dingle, dingle, ting, dong!O baby voice! so sweet and strong!Dingle, dingle, ting, dong!Holy Christmas bells!
Little girl playing an imaginary piano using a chair"'I'LL PLAY IT!' SAID THE LITTLE MAID."
"'I'LL PLAY IT!' SAID THE LITTLE MAID."
"'I'LL PLAY IT!' SAID THE LITTLE MAID."
————————
Oh!have you seen my laddie?His heart is true and kind;His cheeks are fresh and rosy,His hair floats on the wind.He's a brave and lightsome laddie,On honest toil intent.Oh! we had some words this morning,And I don't know where he went.You'll know if he's my laddieBy the twinkle in his eeWhen you whisper to him softlyThat he may come to me.
————————
Inthe snowing and the blowing,In the cruel sleet,Little flowers begin their growingFar beneath our feet.Softly taps the Spring, and cheerly,—"Darlings, are you here?"Till they answer, "We are nearly,Nearly ready, dear.""Where is Winter, with his snowing?Tell us, Spring," they say.Then she answers, "He is going,Going on his way.Poor old Winter does not love you;But his time is past;Soon my birds shall sing above you,—Set you free at last."
winter as n old man walking in the snow at night
bird and nest
Littlegreen HummerWas born in the summer;His coat was as brightAs the emerald's light.Short was his song,Though his bill it was long;His weight altogetherNot more than a feather.From dipping his headIn the sunset red,And gilding his sideIn its fiery tide,He gleamed like a jewel,And darted around,'Twixt sunlight and starlight,Ne'er touching the ground.Now over a blossom,Now under, now in it;Here, there, and everywhere,All in a minute.Ah! never he caredWho wondered and stared,—His life was completenessOf pleasure and sweetness;He revelled in lightness,In fleetness and brightness,This sweet little HummerThat came with the summer.
————————
Gluck!gluck! From under a log,Squatting and leaping, comes Flucky the Frog.Wide is his mouth, and spreading his toes;Very elastic and shiny his clothes;Though lofty his jumpings and brazen his stare,He sees not the Hummer that flits in the air.
frog diving into water
————————
A ladof NansookA balsam-pod took,And he pressed the ends with a will;The sudden reportWas capital sport,And the seeds they are flying still.
————————
Oh, I'd search the world overFor one four-leaved clover!Bend low, pretty grass, bend low!Jump, little crickets! and tumble, you bees!Green little grasshoppers, limber your knees!There's one hidden somewhere, I know.
grasshopper
————————
Elves playing in fountain
Sunlightor starlight,Tilly, my nilly,Find me a stemOf the tiger-lily;I'll fill it fullFrom the fountain thereAnd spirt the waterOver your hair!
————————
"GoodMistress Sundial, what's the hour?""Alack! to tell you I haven't power.It rains; and I only can work, you see,When the sun is casting his light upon me.I'm nothing at all but a senseless blockWhenever his beautiful rays depart;But ask my neighbor, the Four-o'clock;Shecarries the time o' day in her heart."
————————
Someone in the garden murmurs all the day;Some one in the garden moans the night away;Deep in the pine-trees, hidden from our sight,He murmurs all day, and moans all the night.
————————
Wire-locks, Curly-pate, Tangle, and Floss,To make some fine curls they were quite at a loss,Till they found them a field of the bright dandelion,And made the green ringlets with only half trying.
————————
Old Bumof Bumbleby bumped his nose,Trying to light on a damask rose;He bumped his nose, but he didn't careAs he pitched about in the dizzy air.Whenever he tried to his love to fly,He would shoot ahead and pass her by;So he tumbled at last on a larkspur near,And buzzed his business into her ear.
clover and bees
————————
Under the willow, out of the rain,We'll string us many a lilac chain,Shining and sweet, and fair to see,Some for my darling and some for me.
————————
girl in very large flat hat
LittlePolly, always clever,Takes a leaf of live-forever;Before you know itYou see her blow it,A gossamer sackWith a velvet back.How big it growsAs she puffs and blows!But have a care,It is full of air.Ere Polly will stopIt'll crack with a pop;And that's the end of the live-forever;But little Polly is very clever.
————————
girl bending over daisy
Liftup your face, little daisy, pray;I can't stand here in the grass all day.Jamie sent me, and Jamie is sick.He says you are far too sweet to pick,But he gave me something to give to you;So hold up your cheek, little daisy, do.
————————
I knowwhere there's a beautiful shoe,Tiny and sweet, and ready for you;It hides away in the balsam-flower,But I'll find you a pair in less than an hour."Thank you, my laddie; now this I'll do,I'll pluck a heart-flower just for you;The hearts hang close on a bending spray,And every heart hides a lyre away.
bleeding heart
"How shall you find it? I'll tell you true:You gently sunder the heart in two,And under the color, as white as milk,You'll find the lyre with its strings of silk."
————————
Elf sittng on ground
Hobbledy HopsHe made some topsOut of the morning-glory;He used the seed,—He did indeed;And that's the end of my story.
————————
Someone holding a buttercup under a girl's face
Brightlittle buttercup, now you will showWhether my darling likes butter or no.Buttercup, buttercup, will you begin?Shine me an answer under her chin.
————————
GoodMistress Ant, I pray, what is the matter?Why this commotion without any clatter?"Alack! alack! we're ruined, you see;I've lost my children, and they've lost me!Our houses have fallen, our city is gone,And thousands are murdered or running forlorn.Ah me! who would think that such power to destroyCould lurk in the heel of a bare-footed boy?"
ants
————————
Dearme!What shall it be?Such sticky affairsDid ever you see?Let's make a basket,Let's make a mat,Let's make a tea-board,Let's make a hat;Let's make a cottage,Windows and doors;You do the roof,And I'll do the floors.Let's make a pancake,—Stick 'em together;See how they fastenClose to each other!Tied to one's heelThey would answer for spurs;Ah, how we love 'em,These comical burs!
————————
girl pulling down a large hollyhock
Hollyhock, hollyhock, bend for me;I want a cheese for my dolly's tea.I'll put it soon on an acorn plate,And dolly and I shall feast in state.
————————
Whenthe sun is sinking low in the skies,The evening primrose opens her eyes."Come back, dear Sun," she seems to say;"I've been dreaming of you the live-long day."
————————
Ho, Dandelion! my lightsome fellow!What's become of all your yellow?"My bonnie yellow it wouldn't stay,It turned about and it went away,Till nothing at all was left of meBut the misty, feathery ball you see;Yet pluck me off, and blow me well,The time o' day I'll surely tell."Whiff! whiff! "Blow again,—Blow with all your might and main."Whiff! whiff! That is four.Now I've but two feathers more.Whiff! How tight the last one sticks!Whiff! It's gone; and that makes six.The sun is getting low, I see,And we must hurry home to tea.
————————
tree and birdtree and birdtree and bird
SONG OF SUMMER.
Upin the tree top, down in the ground,High in the blue sky, far, all around,—Near by and everywhere creatures are living,God in his bounty something is giving.Up in the tree top, down in the ground,High in the blue sky, far, all around,—Near by and everywhere creatures are striving,Labor is surely the price of their thriving.Up in the tree top, down in the ground,High in the blue sky, far, all around,—Near by and everywhere, singing and humming,Busily, joyfully, Summer is coming!
————————
A littlegirl on a little benchBy a little window stood,And a little trouble was in her heart—"Ah! if I were but good!""Not very, very good," she thought,"Like dear cousin Jane who died;But only patient, true and kind,And free from wicked pride."I'll pray for that at first," she said,"Our Father will help me try.And then, perhaps, He will show the way,To be very good by and by."Then upward rose the little prayer—So earnestly it went,That the little heart of the little maidWas filled with a sweet content.And standing there on the little bench,She looked up into the sky:"I'll try to be good right off," she said,"And better yet, by and by."
————————
Boy carrying pail heading toward cow and calf
ToMooney and her baby,Shut in the corner lot,I'll carry a cooling pailful,For the day is close and hot.But Blacky and Snow can help themselvesAt the brook as well as not.
two cows in brook
————————
TheMoon came late to a lonesome bog,And there sat Goggleky Gluck, the frog."My stars!" she cried, and veiled her face,"What very grand people they have in this place!"
frog with moon in background
————————
"Ho, for a frolic!"Said Johnny the stout;"There's coasting and sledding,—I'm going out!"Scarcely had JohnnyPlunged in the snow,When there came a complaintUp from his toe:—"We're cold," said the toe,"I and the rest;There are ten of us freezingStanding abreast."Then up spoke an ear:"My! but it's laborPlaying in winter. Eh,Opposite neighbor?""Pooh!" said his nose,Angry and red;"Who wants to tingle?Go home to bed!"Eight little fingers,Four to a thumb,All cried together,"Johnny, we're numb!"But Johnny the stoutWouldn't listen a minute;Never a snow-bankBut Johnny was in it.Tumbling and jumping,Shouting with glee,Wading the snow-driftsUp to his knee.Soon he forgot them,Fingers and toes,—Never once thought ofThe ear and the nose.Ah, what a frolic!All in a glow,Johnny grew warmerOut in the snow.Often his breathingCame with a joke:"Blaze away, Johnny!I'll do the smoke.""And I'll do the fire,"Said Johnny the bold;"Fun is the fuelFor driving off cold."
————————
A farmerin Bungleton had a coltThat couldn't be taught to moo;And he kept his cow under lock and boltTill the smith could make her a shoe.His ducks wouldn't gobble, his geese wouldn't quack,His cat couldn't bark at all."I'm clean discouraged!" he cried; "alack!I'll give up my farm in the fall."
————————
chicks drinking out of pan
Kippy!Kippy! what a pleasure!Kippy! Kippy! such a treasure!Here's a lake of water clear;Little Polly put it here.See, the water has a skyLike the one that shines so highAll the other birds are there,Playing in the sunny air.Shall we ever sing and playIn the sky the livelong day?Oh, no, no! such silly tricksWould not do for downy chicks.
————————
baby biting boy's finger
Therewas a shrewd lad of CoolooWho thought baby's tooth wasn't through.Says he, "Though I doubt,I'se a-gwine to find out."And he did—that shrewd lad of Cooloo.
————————
Therewas a fine youth of Pike's PeakWho raised a moustache in a week.When they called it "like down,"Ah, how he would frown!—This hairy young man of Pike's Peak.
————————
Welcome, Christmas! heel and toe,Here we wait thee in a row.Come, good Santa Claus, we beg,—Fill us tightly, foot and leg.Fill us quickly ere you go,—Fill us till we overflow.That's the way! and leave us moreHeaped in piles upon the floor.Little feet that ran all dayTwitch in dreams of merry play;Little feet that jumped at willLie all pink, and warm, and still.See us, how we lightly swing;Hear us, how we try to sing.Welcome, Christmas! heel and toe,Come and fill us ere you go.Here we hang till some one nimblyJumps with treasure down the chimney.Bless us! how he'll tickle us!Funny old St. Nicholas!
————————
It'scoming, boys,It's almost here;It's coming, girls,The grand New Year!A year to be glad in,Not to be bad in;A year to live in,To gain and give in;A year for trying,And not for sighing;A year for strivingAnd hearty thriving;A bright new year.Oh! hold it dear;For God who sendethHe only lendeth.
butterfly
————————
Come, ho! sing, ho! ye chimney sprites,Come and a riddle unravel:Tell us true, by the dancing lights,Where does Saint Nicholas travel?In the twinkling of an eye,Hither, thither, doth he hie,—North and south and east and west;Not a moment doth he rest.Speeding here and speeding there,In an instant everywhere.Valleys, hills, and mountain passes,Sunny fields and drear morasses,Silent plains and busy towns,Yankee meadows, English downs,—Whether crowded, lone or wild,So it holds one little child,—Every spot, he knows by heart;What if half the world apart?In the twinkling of an eyeHither, thither, doth he hie.Prythee, this riddle unravel:How does Saint Nicholas travel?How does he travel? This is the way:Sun or storm or blue or gray,Soon as he gathers his stock of toys,Laughing and nodding, but never a noise,Laughing and nodding, shaking his sides,This is the way Saint Nicholas rides:Not over mountains, not over streams,But gliding swift through the children's dreams.Soon as their eyelids in slumber close,Hither and thither Saint Nicholas goes.But how do the little ones go tohim?Sing, ho! When the winter waxeth dim,And, Christmas over, the children say,"Good Saint Nick! he has gone away,"Oho! he strokes his jolly old nose,And lays him down for a quiet doze."Ha, ha! the snow is a capital bed!"And he pulls his nightcap over his head.Asleep and resting, O good Saint Nick!Now do the children play him a trick;For, bright and rosy and lithe of limb,They travel quick in his dreams, to him.From every nook and possible placeThere peeps a beautiful baby-face.With joyous murmur and laughing hum,From every quarter the children come.Rosy, tender, and snow-flake soft,They throng about him or float aloft;Closer they nestle, a hundred thick,And whisper, "We thank you, dear Saint Nick;We've come to tell you we love you, dear."And Nicholas laughs in his sleep to hear.Oho! sing, ho! and now you know:As soon as the Christmas lights are dim,And the saint no more his rounds doth go,The children flock, in his dreams, to him.
————————
Mylittle one came, and brought me a flower,Never a sweeter one grew;But it faded and faded in one short hour,And lost all its pretty blue.My little one stayed in the room and played;And so my flower bloomed bright,—My beautiful blossom that did not fade,But slept in my arms all night.
girl holding potted plant
————————
Little girl holding doll on lap talking to her"NOW, DOLLY, DEAR, I'M GOING AWAY."
"NOW, DOLLY, DEAR, I'M GOING AWAY."
Now, Dolly, dear, I'm going away,And want you to be good all day.Don't lose your shoes nor soil your dress,Nor get your hair all in a mess;But lie quite still, and up I'll comeTo kiss you, soon as I get home.I'd take you, dear, but then, you know,It's wax Sabina's turn to go.She's sick, I'm 'fraid. Her eyes don't work;They open worse, the more I jerk;She used to be so straight and stout,But now her sawdust's running out.Her kid is out of order, dear.My papa says she's out of gear.That's dreadful, isn't it? But thenThe air may make her well again.So, Dolly, won't you stay alone,And be real good while I am gone?Good-by, my precious! Yes, I'll comeAnd kiss you, soon as I get home.
————————
Onerainy morning,Just for a lark,I jumped and stampedOn my new Noah's Ark:I crushed an elephant,Smashed a gnu,And snapped a camelClean in two;I finished the wolfWithout half tryin',And wild hyena,And roaring lion;I knocked down Ham,And Japhet, too,And cracked the legOf the kangaroo;I finished, beside,Two pigs and a donkey,A polar bear,Opossum, and monkey;Also the lions,Tigers, and cats,And dromedaries,And tiny rats—There wasn't a thingThat didn't feel,Sooner or later,The weight o' my heel;I felt as grandAs grand could be—But oh the whippingMy mammy gave me!
————————
man looking into cow's face
OldDoctor Paff, he used to laughWhenever he saw the brindle calf.But Doctor Paff thought best to bowWhen at last he met the brindle cow.
————————
Little girl refusing crusts from her grandma
Theawfulest times that ever could beThey had with a bad little girl of Dundee,Who never would finish her crust.In vain they besought her,And patiently taught her,And told her she must.Her grandma would coax,And so would the folks,And tell her the sinningOf such a beginning.But no, she wouldn't,She couldn't, she shouldn't,She'd have them to know—So they might as well go.Now what do you think soon came to pass?This little girl of Dundee, alas!Who wouldn't take crusts in the regular way,Sat down to a feast one summer's day;And what did the people that little girl give,But a dish ofbread pudding—as sure as I live!
————————
Poorlittle Toddlekins,All full o' sketer-bites—Bodder him awful,Baby can't sleep o' nights.Buzzing all over him,Singing and tickling,In and out, round about,Nipping and prickling.Poor little Toddlekins,All full o' sketer-bites—Bodder him awful,Can't even sleep o' nights!