And wouldn't it be wiser, Το go to work in earnest, -Phoebe Cary. THE DAY'S EYE. What does the daisy see In the breezy meadows tossing? What does the daisy see Round the sunny meadows glancing? It sees the butterflies' chase And the filmy gnats at their dancing. What does the daisy see Down in the grassy thickets? It sees the bobolink's nest, That no one else can discover, And the brooding mother-bird With the floating grass above her. -Anon. THE NIGHT WIND. Have you ever heard the wind go " Yoooooo"? 'Tis a pitiful sound to hear r; It seems to chill you through and through Tis the voice of the wind that broods outside And many and many's the time I've cried That you wail the long hours through?" And the night would say in its ghostly My mother told me long ago When I was a little lad That when the night went wailing so, Somebody had been bad; And then when I was snug in bed, Whither I had been sent, With the blankets pulled up round my head, I'd think of what my mother said, And wonder what boy she meant. Of the wind that hoarsely blew, And the voice would say in its meaningfu} way: "Yoooooo! Yoooooooooo! Yoooooooooo!" That this was true, I must allow Yes, though I'm quite a model now, I was not always so. And if you doubt what things I say, Suppose you make the test; Suppose that when you've been bad some day, And up to bed you're sent away From mother and the rest Suppose you ask, "Who has been bad?" And then you'll hear what's true; For the wind will moan in its ruefulest tone: "Yoooooo! Yoooooooooo! Yoooooooooo!" -Eugene Field. THE BLUE BIRD'S SONG. Little white snowdrop, I pray you arise: Put on your mantles of purple and gold. Summer is coming and springtime is here. SUPPOSE. Suppose the little cowslip And many a little child would grieve Suppose the little breezes, Should think themselves too small Suppose the little dewdrop Before the day was done, Without a drop to moisten it, How many deeds of kindness Although it has but little strength, It wants a loving spirit, Much more than strength, to prove For others by its love. AUTUMN LEAVES. Come, little leaves," said the wind one day; Soon the leaves heard the wind's loud call, Dancing and flying, the little leaves went; content. Soon fast asleep in their earthy beds, The snow laid a white blanket over their heads. |