| |
|
There Was an Old Lady
Who Swallowed a Fly
There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a spider.
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a bird.
How absurd to swallow a bird.
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a cat.
Imagine that, she swallowed a cat.
She swallowed a cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a dog.
Oh, what a hog to swallow a dog.
She swallowed a dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a cow.
I'm not sure how she swallowed a cow.
She swallowed a cow to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider,
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
I don't know why she swallowed a fly.
Perhaps she'll die!
There was an old lady who swallowed a horse.
She's dead, of course!
|
|
There Was An Old Woman
Who Lived In A Shoe
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children, she didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth, without any bread,
Whipped them all soundly, and sent them to bed.
|
|
This Little Piggy Went To Market
This little piggy went to market;
This little piggy stayed home;
This little piggy had roast beef;
This little piggy had none;
This little piggy said,
"Wee, wee, wee," all the way home.
|
|
Threading A Needle
Surely I think Nurse has forgotten
How hard it is to thread this cotton.
It is so very long ago
Since she was small like me and slow.
Thread, needle, thread, Nurse says I must do it.
Dear Nurse, indeed the cotton won't come through it!
|
|
The Ticket Collector
The people come, the people go,
The ticket man stands there,
The trains rush in and out below,
And some one steps aside to know
How much his extra fare?
None stay to look at anything,
But each alone intent,
Passes with haste or measured swing,
And thinking of a different thing,
Walks up the dark ascent.
O ticket man, the sky is bright
With golden floods of sun
Not yours that wide, blue, radiant sight;
Here business jostles out the light
And night and day are one!
|
|
Time To Sleep
The games are played and the songs are sung,
The dinner is over and I'm in the tub.
I'd better hurry and get one more hug,
Before it's time to sleep.
Sleep, gonna close my eyes,
And sleep, 'til it's morning time;
Sleep, before it's time to sleep.
I've had a drink of water and a story told,
I've got my blanket to keep me from the cold,
The light is out and the curtain's pulled;
It'll soon be time to sleep.
Sleep, gonna close my eyes,
And sleep, 'til it's morning time;
Sleep, before it's time to sleep.
My Momma loves me, that is plain to see,
My Daddy loves me sitting on his knee;
Their love grew and it encircles me,
And now it's time to sleep.
Sleep, gonna close my eyes,
And sleep, 'til it's morning time;
Sleep, before it's time to sleep.
Sleep, gonna close my eyes,
And sleep, 'til it's morning time;
Sleep, before it's time to sleep
|
|
To A Bee
Busy Bee, busy Bee, where are you going?
Down where the blue-bells are budding and blowing,
There I shall find something hidden and sweet
That all little children are willing to eat!
Busy Bee, busy Bee, what will you do?
Put it into my pocket, and save it for you!
|
|
To The Cat At Grandmama's,
A Letter
Dear Cat, I'm writing you this letter,
Which I shall send by post;
So, by-and-by, perhaps you'd better
Just say if it was lost.
I've got a nice large sheet of paper,
And, pussy, what d'you think!
Some sealing-wax, a smart red taper,
And a real pen and ink!
Dear Cat, how sadly I did cry
When Nurse, I, and Papa
Where all obliged to say good-bye
To you and Grandmama.
I saw you on the steps, and John
Was standing at your side,
You watched us till we were quite gone,
Then, I suppose, you cried!
Oh! puss, I have been so so sad
These two last rainy days,
And I kept thinking how we had
Such dear, delicious plays,
You and I, pussy, in the hall,
Jumping upon the chairs,
Scrambling for my elastic ball,
Running half-way upstairs,
Until we met grave housemaid Jane
With dust-pan and with broom,
Who always sent us back again
To the warm drawing-room;
And there, before the tea-bell rang,
We sat upon one stool,
Whilst you purred, pussy, and I sang,
Or else we played at school.
I taught you that two paws were two,
And twice two paws were four,
And tried to make you count your claws, but you
Would stick them in the floor!
And so you never got to be
As wise as you were bid
At least I was surprised to see
One evening what you did.
John brought the kettle in and stept
With a black shining boot
Between us, when you, pussy, leapt
And fastened on his foot.
You thought it was a rat, but oh!
When I had told you that
If John had fifty feet or so,
They couldn't make one rat!
What cream we had for tea that night,
What games with cotton reels;
But no, puss, it upsets me quite,
One can't help what one feels.
I'm crying now, so here I'll end,
Dear Cat, best love to you
Believe me, your own little friend,
Emily Fortescue.
|
|
To Emily At Her Own Home,
From The Cat
Dear Emily, your letter came
Directed right to me,
And when John took it at the door,
A puzzled man was he.
"A letter for the Cat!
Why, such a thing was never heard!"
Then Jane came out and looked,
And long the two together purred.
I do not think they were quite pleased
Such honour should be done
To me--for Jane laughed loud and said,
"It's just Miss Emmie's fun;
"I'll take it to her Grandmama,"
And then, though right before
Her feet I stood, she hurried on,
And shut the parlour door
Right in my face, I could have scratched
And torn the parlour mat,
Only that would have been too like
A common, vulgar cat,
Which I am not, as well you know.
I waited patiently,
And soon I heard dear Grandmama
Calling aloud for me.
"Open the door for Puss," said she;
I sprang upon her knee;
Then, quite out loud, she kindly read
Your lovely note to me.
And all the while I purred and purred,
Or softly said, "Mew, mew";
With grown-up people in the room
'Twas all that I could do
To show how, at each friendly word,
My cat's heart swelled with pride;
And yet some sadness came therewith,
The news that you had cried.
I did not cry, in Cat-dom we
Don't think it etiquette
To wash our faces when we grieve,
And make our whiskers wet.
Yet none the less I truly shared
The sadness of the house;
I think 'twas a whole week before
I'd heart to catch a mouse.
I even thought the cream was sour,
I lost my appetite,
I caterwauled upon the roof
So dismally at night
That spiteful neighbour Green sent in
(He's a low taste for dogs)
And begged that Grandmama would put
My feet in walnut clogs!
I grew morose, I spat at John,
Put up my back at Jane,
But your kind letter makes me feel
A happy cat again.
When you come back in Spring, I'll learn
To count my paws, and you
Perhaps might condescend to try
A few things I can do.
Your way of climbing up a wall
Strikes me as not the thing,
And though you're nimble, you might take
A lesson how to spring.
What's more, if you are not above
Hearing a cat's advice,
In time you might be brought to feel
More justly about mice.
You've hurt my feelings now and then,
But I forgive you that
So, count among your warmest friends
Your Grandmama's
Gray Cat.
|
|
To Fortitude
Shall I be afraid to tread
Where great warriors have led
Warriors whose only sword
Was their dauntless, truthful word?
If they suffered, so will I,
And, like them, work patiently:
Fortitude, by Thy good grace
I trust I shall not turn my face!
|
|
To Market, To Market
To market, to market, to buy a fat pig,
Home again, home again, jiggety jig.
To market, to market, to buy a fat hog,
Home again, home again, jiggety jog.
|
|
The Train
"I Pause," said the train, "As the Signalman bade
I pause in the dark: is my Driver afraid?
Alight all inside me, my passengers read
Or sleepily nod, when I tremble with speed.
"My Driver upstanding keeps watch through the dark
Does he notice me throwing out spark upon spark?
Does my Driver indeed see just as I do,
And spell the new names of the towns we pass through?
"Great eyes glare upon us, green, yellow, and red
Strange shapes in the banks our night fancies have bred!
My skin is of iron, my nerves are of steel,
But how does my warm-blooded man-driver feel?"
|
|
The Traveller
The traveller stopped, and, throwing down the reins,
Jumped from his seat;
He blew his nails, the cold was in his veins
And nipped his feet.
A lonely house stood nigh upon the hill,
And here he asked
For meat and bread, a shelter from the chill
Of that night's blast.
The countryman stared at the traveller's face;
"Come, wife," called he,
"Give him our best, but bless my soul, this place
Would starve a flea.
"Our best indeed is naught but hard black bread,
A scanty store!"
"Unbridle me my milk-white goats," then said
The traveller, Thor.
"For I will kill them and a feast will make
For every one;
But bid your children not to lose or break
A single bone."
"I wonder why," thought Thialfi, the son,
And as they ate
He found a bone, a very little one,
Upon his plate:
"There can't be any harm in breaking this
To suck the marrow
Such lots of bones! if one should go amiss,
A goat's no sparrow!"
Next day the children woke in haste to see
The traveller start:
"Now bring the goat-skins and the bones to me,
And fetch my cart."
Then over the dry bones the traveller stood
And whispered low;
Thialfi muttered, "Why, what is the good?"
Then he cried, "Oh--o--o!!"
For by the cart there stood two milk-white goats
Alive and well,
Both sleek and trim with smooth and glossy coats
And tinkling bell.
But ah! why is it that one goes so lame
Across the grass,
What greedy little boy have we to blame?
Alas, alas!
Then fell Thialfi on his trembling knees,
"Oh, Sir," he cried,
"I broke the bone, but oh, forgive me, please!"
Kind Thor replied:
"Since you have told the truth, nor tried to lie,
You shall go free."
A lesson to us all in "wondering why,"
Then let this be.
|
|
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Then the traveler in the dark
Thanks you for your tiny spark;
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
|
Back to Main Index
2656
© copyright The Lord's Rain.
All rights reserved.
Graphics by: moody motifs
|
|
|