A TOADSTOOL COMES UP IN A NIGHT
A POCKET HANDKERCHIEF TO HEM
IF A PIG WORE A WIG
SELDOM “CAN’T,”
1 AND 1 ARE 2
HOW MANY SECONDS IN A MINUTE?
WHAT WILL YOU GIVE ME FOR MY POUND?
JANUARY COLD DESOLATE
WHAT IS PINK? A ROSE IS PINK
MOTHER SHAKE THE CHERRY-TREE
A PIN HAS A HEAD, BUT HAS NO HAIR
HOPPING FROG, HOP HERE AND BE SEEN
WHERE INNOCENT BRIGHT-EYED DAISIES ARE
THE CITY MOUSE LIVES IN A HOUSE
WHAT DOES THE DONKEY BRAY ABOUT
THREE PLUM BUNS
A MOTHERLESS SOFT LAMBKIN
DANCING ON THE HILL-TOPS
WHEN FISHES SET UMBRELLAS UP
THE PEACOCK HAS A SCORE OF EYES
PUSSY HAS A WHISKERED FACE
THE DOG LIES IN HIS KENNEL
IF HOPE GREW ON A BUSH
I PLANTED A HAND
UNDER THE IVY BUSH
THERE IS ONE THAT HAS A HEAD WITHOUT AN EYE
IF A MOUSE COULD FLY
SING ME A SONG
THE LILY HAS AN AIR
MARGARET HAS A MILKING-PAIL
IN THE MEADOW — WHAT IN THE MEADOW?
A FRISKY LAMB
MIX A PANCAKE
THE WIND HAS SUCH A RAINY SOUND
THREE LITTLE CHILDREN
FLY AWAY, FLY AWAY OVER THE SEA
MINNIE BAKES OATEN CAKES
A WHITE HEN SITTING
CURRANTS ON A BUSH
I HAVE BUT ONE ROSE IN THE WORLD
ROSY MAIDEN WINIFRED
WHEN THE COWS COME HOME THE MILK IS COMING
ROSES BLUSHING RED AND WHITE
DING A DING
A RING UPON HER FINGER
FERRY ME ACROSS THE WATER
WHEN A MOUNTING SKYLARK SINGS
WHO HAS SEEN THE WIND?
THE HORSES OF THE SEA
O SAILOR, COME ASHORE
A DIAMOND OR A COAL?
AN EMERALD IS AS GREEN AS GRASS
BOATS SAIL ON THE RIVERS
THE LILY HAS A SMOOTH STALK
HURT NO LIVING THING
I CAUGHT A LITTLE LADYBIRD
ALL THE BELLS WERE RINGING
WEE WEE HUSBAND
I HAVE A LITTLE HUSBAND
THE DEAR OLD WOMAN IN THE LANE
SWIFT AND SURE THE SWALLOW
I DREAMT I CAUGHT A LITTLE OWL
WHAT DOES THE BEE DO?
I HAVE A POLL PARROT
A HOUSE OF CARDS
THE ROSE WITH SUCH A BONNY BLUSH
THE ROSE THAT BLUSHES ROSY RED
OH, FAIR TO SEE
CLEVER LITTLE WILLIE WEE
THE PEACH TREE ON THE SOUTHERN WALL
A ROSE HAS THORNS AS WELL AS HONEY
IS THE MOON TIRED? SHE LOOKS SO PALE
IF STARS DROPPED OUT OF HEAVEN
GOODBYE IN FEAR, GOODBYE IN SORROW
IF THE SUN COULD TELL US HALF
IF THE MOON CAME FROM HEAVEN
O LADY MOON, YOUR HORNS POINT TOWARD THE EAST
WHAT DO THE STARS DO
MOTHERLESS BABY AND BABYLESS MOTHER
CRIMSON CURTAINS ROUND MY MOTHER’S BED
BABY LIES SO FAST ASLEEP
I KNOW A BABY, SUCH A BABY
LULLABY, OH, LULLABY!
LIE A-BED
BROWNIE, BROWNIE, LET DOWN YOUR MILK
STROKE A FLINT, AND THERE IS NOTHING TO ADMIRE
I AM A KING
PLAYING AT BOB CHERRY
BLIND FROM MY BIRTH
ANGELS AT THE FOOT
Angels at the foot,
And Angels at the head,
And like a curly little lamb
My pretty babe in bed.
LOVE ME, — I LOVE YOU
Love me, — I love you,
Love me, my baby;
Sing it high, sing it low,
Sing it as may be.
Mother’s arms under you,
Her eyes above you;
Sing it high, sing it low,
Love me — I love you.
MY BABY HAS A FATHER AND A MOTHER
Rich little baby!
Fatherless, motherless, I know another
Forlorn as may be:
Poor little baby!
OUR LITTLE BABY FELL ASLEEP
Our little baby fell asleep,
And may not wake again
For days and days, and weeks and weeks;
But then he’ll wake again,
And come with his own pretty look,
And kiss Mamma again.
KOOKOOROOKOO! KOOKOOROOKOO!
“Kookoorookoo! kookoorookoo!”
Crows the cock before the morn;
“Kikirikee! kikirikee!”
Roses in the east are born.
“Kookoorookoo! kookoorookoo!”
Early birds begin their singing;
“Kikirikee! kikirikee!”
The day, the day, the day is springing.
BABY CRY
Baby cry, —
Oh fie! —
At the physic in the cup:
Gulp it twice
And gulp it thrice,
Baby gulp it up.
EIGHT O’CLOCK
Eight o’clock;
The postman’s knock!
Five letters for Papa;
One for Lou,
And none for you,
And three for dear Mamma.
BREAD AND MILK FOR BREAKFAST
Bread and milk for breakfast,
And woolen frocks to wear,
And a crumb for robin redbreast
On the cold days of the year.
THERE’S SNOW ON THE FIELDS
There’s snow on the fields,
And cold in the cottage,
While I sit in the chimney nook
Supping hot pottage.
My clothes are soft and warm,
Fold upon fold,
But I’m so sorry for the poor
Out in the cold.
DEAD IN THE COLD, A SONG-SINGING THRUSH
Dead in the cold, a song-singing thrush,
Dead at the foot of a snowberry bush, —
Weave him a coffin of rush,
Dig him a grave where the soft mosses grow,
Raise him a tombstone of snow.
I DUG AND DUG AMONGST THE SNOW
I dug and dug amongst the snow,
And thought the flowers would never grow;
I dug and dug amongst the sand,
And still no green thing came to hand.
Melt, O snow! the warm winds blow
To thaw the flowers and melt the snow;
But all the winds from every land
Will rear no blossom from the sand.
A CITY PLUM IS NOT A PLUM
A city plum is not a plum;
A dumb-bell is no bell, though dumb;
A party rat is not a rat;
A sailor’s cat is not a cat;
A soldier’s frog is not a frog;
A captain’s log is not a log.
YOUR BROTHER HAS A FALCON
Your brother has a falcon,
Your sister has a flower;
But what is left for mannikin,
Born within a hour?
I’ll nurse you on my knee, my knee,
My own little son;
I’ll rock you, rock you, in my arms,
My least little one.
HEAR WHAT THE MOURNFUL LINNETS SAY
Hear what the mournful linnets say:
“We built our nest compact and warm,
But cruel boys came round our way
And took our summerhouse by storm.
“They crushed the eggs so neatly laid;
So now we sit with drooping wing,
And watch the ruin they have made,
Too late to build, too sad to sing.”
&
nbsp; A BABY’S CRADLE WITH NO BABY IN IT
A baby’s cradle with no baby in it,
A baby’s grave where autumn leaves drop sere;
The sweet soul gathered home to Paradise,
The body waiting here.
HOP-O’-MY-THUMB AND LITTLE JACK HORNER
Hop-o’-my-thumb and little Jack Horner,
What do you mean by tearing and fighting?
Sturdy dog Trot close round the corner,
I never caught him growling and biting.
HOPE IS LIKE A HAREBELL TREMBLING FROM ITS BIRTH
Hope is like a harebell trembling from its birth,
Love is like a rose the joy of all the earth;
Faith is like a lily lifted high and white,
Love is like a lovely rose the world’s delight;
Harebells and sweet lilies show a thornless growth,
But the rose with all its thorns excels them both.
O WIND, WHY DO YOU NEVER REST
O wind, why do you never rest
Wandering, whistling to and fro,
Bringing rain out of the west,
From the dim north bringing snow?
CRYING, MY LITTLE ONE, FOOTSORE AND WEARY?
Crying, my little one, footsore and weary?
Fall asleep, pretty one, warm on my shoulder:
I must tramp on through the winter night dreary,
While the snow falls on me colder and colder.
You are my one, and I have not another;
Sleep soft, my darling, my trouble and treasure;
Sleep warm and soft in the arms of your mother,
Dreaming of pretty things, dreaming of pleasure.
GROWING IN THE VALE
Growing in the vale
By the uplands hilly,
Growing straight and frail,
Lady Daffadowndilly.
In a golden crown,
And a scant green gown
While the spring blows chilly,
Lady Daffadown,
Sweet Daffadowndilly.
A LINNET IN A GILDED CAGE
A linnet in a gilded cage, —
A linnet on a bough, —
In frosty winter one might doubt
Which bird is luckier now.
But let the trees burst out in leaf,
And nests be on the bough,
Which linnet is the luckier bird,
Oh who could doubt it now?
WRENS AND ROBINS IN THE HEDGE
Wrens and robins in the hedge,
Wrens and robins here and there;
Building, perching, pecking, fluttering,
Everywhere!
MY BABY HAS A MOTTLED FIST
My baby has a mottled fist,
My baby has a neck in creases;
My baby kisses and is kissed,
For he’s the very thing for kisses.
WHY DID BABY DIE
Why did baby die,
Making Father sigh,
Mother cry?
Flowers, that bloom to die,
Make no reply
Of “why?”
But bow and die.
IF ALL WERE RAIN AND NEVER SUN
If all were rain and never sun,
No bow could span the hill;
If all were sun and never rain,
There’d be no rainbow still.
O WIND, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN
O wind, where have you been,
That you blow so sweet?
Among the violets
Which blossom at your feet.
The honeysuckle waits
For Summer and for heat.
But violets in the chilly Spring
Make the turf so sweet.
ON THE GRASSY BANKS
On the grassy banks
Lambkins at their pranks;
Woolly sisters, woolly brothers
Jumping off their feet
While their woolly mothers
Watch by them and bleat.
RUSHES IN A WATERY PLACE
Rushes in a watery place,
And reeds in a hollow;
A soaring skylark in the sky,
A darting swallow;
And where pale blossom used to hang
Ripe fruit to follow.
MINNIE AND MATTIE
Minnie and Mattie
And fat little May,
Out in the country,
Spending a day.
Such a bright day,
With the sun glowing,
And the trees half in leaf,
And the grass growing.
Pinky white pigling
Squeals through his snout,
Woolly white lambkin
Frisks all about.
Cluck! cluck! the nursing hen
Summons her folk, —
Ducklings all downy soft
Yellow as yolk.
Cluck! cluck! the mother hen
Summons her chickens
To peck the dainty bits
Found in her pickings.
Minnie and Mattie
And May carry posies,
Half of sweet violets,
Half of primroses.
Give the sun time enough,
Glowing and glowing,
He’ll rouse the roses
And bring them blowing.
Don’t wait for roses
Losing today,
O Minnie, Mattie,
And wise little May.
Violets and primroses
Blossom today
For Minnie and Mattie
And fat little May.
HEARTSEASE IN MY GARDEN BED
Heartsease in my garden bed,
With sweetwilliam white and red,
Honeysuckle on my wall: —
Heartsease blossoms in my heart
When sweet William comes to call,
But it withers when we part,
And the honey-trumpets fall.
IF I WERE A QUEEN
If I were a Queen,
What would I do?
I’d make you King,
And I’d wait on you.
If I were a King,
What would I do?
I’d make you Queen,
For I’d marry you.
WHAT ARE HEAVY? SEA-SAND AND SORROW
What are heavy? sea-sand and sorrow:
What are brief? today and tomorrow:
What are frail? Spring blossoms and youth:
What are deep? the ocean and truth.
THERE IS BUT ONE MAY IN THE YEAR
There is but one May in the year,
And sometimes May is wet and cold;
There is but one May in the year
Before the year grows old.
Yet though it be the chilliest May,
With least of sun and most of showers,
Its wind and dew, its night and day,
Bring up the flowers.
THE SUMMER NIGHTS ARE SHORT
The summer nights are short
Where northern days are long:
For hours and hours lark after lark
Trills out his song.
The summer days are short
Where southern nights are long:
Yet short the night when nightingales
Trill out their song.
THE DAYS ARE CLEAR
The days are clear,
Day after day,
When April’s here,
That leads to May,
And June
Must follow soon:
Stay, June, stay! —
If only we could stop the moon
And June!
TWIST ME A CROWN OF WIND-FLOWERS
Twist me a crown of wind-flowers;
That I may fly away
To hear the singers at their song,
And players at their play.
Put on your crown of wind-flowers:
But whither would you go?
Beyond the surging of the sea
And the stor
ms that blow.
Alas! your crown of wind-flowers
Can never make you fly:
I twist them in a crown today,
And tonight they die.
BROWN AND FURRY
Brown and furry
Caterpillar in a hurry,
Take your walk
To the shady leaf, or stalk,
Or what not,
Which may be the chosen spot.
No toad spy you,
Hovering bird of prey pass by you;
Spin and die,
To live again a butterfly.
A TOADSTOOL COMES UP IN A NIGHT
A toadstool comes up in a night, —
Learn the lesson, little folk: —
An oak grows on a hundred years,
But then it is an oak.
A POCKET HANDKERCHIEF TO HEM
A pocket handkerchief to hem —
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!
How many stitches it will take
Before it’s done, I fear.
Yet set a stitch and then a stitch,
And stitch and stitch away,
Till stitch by stitch the hem is done —
And after work is play!