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diff --git a/75901-0.txt b/75901-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..17cd30d --- /dev/null +++ b/75901-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1797 @@ + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75901 *** + + + Transcriber’s Notes + + 1. Certain typographic errors were silently corrected. + + 2. Illustrations moved next to Song-titles, were contextually + captioned. + + 3. The text version is coded for italics and the like mark-ups i.e., + + (a) italics are indicated thus _italic_; + + (b) small-caps are indicated thus +CAPS+; + + (c) Images are indicated as [Illustration: (with narration...)]. + + + + + Elfin Songs of Sunland + + + + + ELFIN SONGS + OF SUNLAND + + BY CHARLES KEELER + + [Illustration] + + DECORATIONS +BY+ LOUISE KEELER + + FOURTH EDITION + + [Illustration] + + LIVE OAK PUBLISHING + COMPANY + + Berkeley California + + + + + +COPYRIGHT 1904 BY+ + CHARLES KEELER + + +COPYRIGHT 1904 BY+ + CHARLES KEELER + (For Second Edition) + + +COPYRIGHT 1914 BY+ + CHARLES KEELER + (For Third Edition) + + +COPYRIGHT 1920 BY+ + CHARLES KEELER + (For Fourth Edition) + + + Decorations by + LOUISE KEELER + + + + + DEDICATION + + + Elfin songs of sunland, + Frolicland and funland; + Little rhymes of child hours, + Wood elves and wild flowers; + Jingles of the forest green, + Songs for little Merodine! + + [Illustration: Merodine] + + [Illustration: Boy with owl] + + + + + NAMES OF THE SONGS + + + PAGE + +_I. A RING AROUND OF PLAYTIME_ + + +COME AWAY CHILDREN+ 1 + + +HAND-ORGAN MAN+ 3 + + +POPPING CORN+ 5 + + +THE BAKER MAN+ 7 + + +TOPS+ 9 + + +THE KITE+ 11 + + +THE SEE-SAW+ 13 + + +SOAP BUBBLES+ 14 + + +THE BRASS BAND+ 15 + + +THE MERRY-GO-ROUND+ 17 + + +THE OVERLAND FLYER+ 19 + + +SPORTS+ 21 + + +THE SWIMMING POOL+ 22 + + +A SONG OF LEONARDE+ 24 + + +_II. SONGS OF THE WILDWOOD_ + + +A CHILD’S BOOK+ 27 + + +A LESSON+ 28 + + +A WINTER WALK+ 29 + + +WINTER RAIN IN CALIFORNIA+ 30 + + +MR. WIND+ 32 + + +WILD-WOOD BOGIES+ 34 + + +THE COYOTE+ 36 + + +THE HUMMINGBIRD+ 38 + + +THE ROADRUNNER+ 40 + + +THE BURROWING OWL+ 42 + + +THE CRESTED JAY+ 44 + + +TROUBLE IN THE TREES+ 46 + + +THE SQUIRREL+ 48 + + +THE POLLIWOG THAT LOST ITS TAIL+ 50 + + +THE HORNED TOAD+ 52 + + +A FAIRY IN A FLOWER+ 53 + + +BUTTERCUP+ 55 + + +THE COLUMBINE+ 56 + + +THE LEOPARD LILY+ 57 + + +JOHNNY JUMP-UP+ 58 + + +SONG OF THE BROWN LILY+ 59 + + +SHOOTING STAR FLOWERS+ 60 + + +THE SCARLET LARKSPUR+ 61 + + +THE TRILLIUM+ 62 + + +BABY BLUE-EYES+ 63 + + +WHO KNOWS ROSALIE+ 64 + + +TO A WILD ROSE+ 65 + + +THE QUEEN OF THE FAIRIES+ 66 + + +_III. QUIPS AND CRANKS_ + + +MY AUNTIE+ 71 + + +THE BEAR HUNTER+ 73 + + +TRYING TO PLAY+ 74 + + +MAGGIE MULDOON+ 75 + + +THE BOOBITY BUMPKIN+ 76 + + +FARMER JONES’ GOAT+ 77 + + +POOR MR. MIDAS+ 78 + + +THREE WISE MEN+ 79 + + +A GOBBLER IN TROUBLE+ 80 + + +THE TALE OF A POOR LITTLE WORM+ 82 + + +_IV. RHYMES FOR TODDLERS_ + + +PUSSY WHITE+ 87 + + +CHINA DOLLS+ 88 + + +DOLLIE’S LULLABY+ 90 + + +BABY LIFE+ 92 + + +LITTLE BROTHER+ 93 + + +PLAYING HORSE+ 94 + + +MY DONKEY+ 95 + + +BABY IN THE BARNYARD+ 96 + + +BABY’S GOOD-NIGHT+ 98 + + +DOGS+ 100 + + +MY ANIMALS+ 101 + + +_V. BROWN BABY BALLADS_ + + +SIX LITTLE ESKIMO+ 105 + + +PICCANINNY LULLABY+ 107 + + +THE MEXICAN BABIES+ 109 + + +THE LITTLE PIUTE+ 111 + + +THE HONOLULU BOY+ 113 + + +A SAMOA SLEEPY-SONG+ 114 + + + + + A RING AROUND OF PLAYTIME + + [Illustration: Elfin Songs of Sunland] + + + + + COME AWAY CHILDREN + + + COME away children, frisk along with me, + For I’ll be the piper and merry will we be; + With laughter and dancing and sports to make us gay, + O there’s sunshine and there’s singing--come away, come away! + + Come away children, leave the town behind; + Follow me to Happy-land and see what we shall find, + Where the flowers smile to see you and the birdies trill and play + Just because the sun is shining--come away, come away! + + Come away children, I’ll pipe an elfin tune + And we’ll play that we are fairies dancing in the summer moon; + We’ll pretend that we are flowers in the carnival of May + If you’ll join the merry crew and come away, come away! + + + + + HAND-ORGAN MAN + + + HAND-ORGAN MAN, O hand-organ man, + Grind out the music as fast as you can, + With a tum-turi tum-turi hippity hay, + And a red-coated monkey to frolic and play. + + The organ rings merrily on down the street, + And the very policeman steps out to your beat, + When, sucking her stick of molasses, comes Jennie + To give that impertinent monkey a penny. + + O toodle de toodle de, hand-organ grinder, + No man in the city to children is kinder, + And my little kid brother just played not to care + When the monkey jumped on him and grabbed at his hair. + + + + + POPPING CORN + + + COME, you merry little fellows, + Poke the coals and blow the bellows; + Here’s the popper, shell the corn, + And let it pop this winter morn. + + Pop-a-tee-pop-pop-pop! + See the kernels skip and hop, + See them puff out full and white, + Hear them crackle in affright. + + Now shake, shake, shake, + Till your hands and faces bake; + Tip it, turn it, + Or you’ll burn it, + And a dreadful muss you’ll make. + + Now it’s done we’ll have a feast; + Smallest hands must take the least! + Hot and crisp and white and sweet,-- + Isn’t this a jolly treat! + + [Illustration: Around the fire popping corn] + + + + + THE BAKER MAN + + + O WHO do you think is the baker man, + And how do you think he makes his cake? + He mixes his dough in an old tin can + And puts it out in the sun to bake. + He pats pats pats at his little mud pies; + He rounds them and rolls them and looks so wise. + + The baker man is my brother Ned, + And out in the garden he’s working away, + Right by the scarlet geranium bed, + And his hands and his face are just covered with clay, + As he pats pats pats at his little mud pies; + As he rounds them and rolls them and looks so wise. + + [Illustration: Ned making mud pies in the garden] + + + + + TOPS + + + HOW would you like to be a top, + To be made to spin till you couldn’t stop;-- + To be pitched head first from a coil of string, + To be made to dance till you sigh and swing? + + There’s the top that is whipped and the top with a peg + That gouges its brother and leaves him to beg; + There’s the musical top with holes in its side, + That is said to have played till it fell down and died. + + But of all the tops that ever were spun, + The biggest are those of the old daddy Sun; + And I’ll wager he has just the jolliest sport + With the Earth and with Saturn and tops of that sort. + + [Illustration: Top spins from a coil of string] + + + + + THE KITE + + + BLOW, wind, blow, wind, + Fly, kite, fly! + On and on you go, wind, + Up, kite, high! + + Out sweeps your tail, kite, + Tug on the string; + Far away you sail, kite, + Proudly you swing. + + If I were like you, kite, + One white wing, + With nothing else to do, kite, + But tug upon the string. + + I’d sail up from town, kite, + To see the moon’s back, + And then slide down, kite, + The Milky-Way’s track. + + [Illustration: Flying a kite] + + + + + THE SEE-SAW + + + O BALANCE the ladder atop of the rail, + And up we go, down we go, all in a gale, + Singing like birds as we teeter away, + Bouncing and jouncing each other in play. + + You are Queen Sally and I am King Peter, + And where are we going astride of our teeter? + Riding to fairyland, over the moon. + Up we go,--down!--and we’ll be there soon. + + + + + SOAP BUBBLES + + + FLUBBLETY, flopplety, bubble and spatter, + Soap-suds and water and clay-pipes and chatter! + Puff little cheeklets and blow, blow, blow! + Look at the bubbles beginning to grow! + + O what a beauty, all purple and pink! + Whiff! it has vanished before you can think! + Now look at this one with clouds and a tree + Swimming about in a gold-lighted sea! + + Hurrah, it is floating away through the air! + Car of the fairies was never more fair. + Zip comes a goblin and clips it away! + What will the fairy who rode in it say? + + + + + THE BRASS BAND + + + IT makes me feel so fine and gay + When drums are beat and bugles play; + I think I’d like to be a king + And rule the earth and everything. + + The big bass-drum + Goes dum, dum, dum, + The horns play tweedle dee, + And every toot and every beat + Just catches hold of my two feet + And makes them run away from me. + And this is what I hear them say + As down the street they march away: + Te dum ratta dum, ratta dum, dum dee, + Te dum, ratta dum, shout hurrah boys with me! + Tweedle twee twee twee, tweedle anything you can, + For I’m going to be a soldier when I get to be a man! + + [Illustration: I’m going to be a soldier when I get to be a man] + + + + + THE MERRY-GO-ROUND + + + STAND still, Mr. Horse, while I jump on your back + To ride in the ring of the whirligig’s track. + The boys and girls shout as the man cries, “Hold fast.” + The music is playing--we’re started at last! + + O faster and faster we rock and we spin + Around, keeping time to the musical din, + Then I pull on my reins and cry “Whoa!” to the horse, + For that is the right way to stop him, of course. + + But we go and we go and we don’t mind a pin + If we end where we started and have to begin + On the merry-go-round, the merry-go-round-- + ’Tis the best kind of travel I ever have found! + + + + + THE OVERLAND FLYER + + + TO-TOO! to-too! Ka-ding, ka-dong! + Down the mole comes the flyer a-zipping along,-- + Smoke clouds panting and hissing of steam, + Rattling of rails and a sudden scream! + + The iron dragon snorts up to the station, + The proudest beast in the wide creation; + Fed on fire it puffs and blows, + Cyclops-eyed like a fiend it glows. + + We kiss our hands to the friends by the Bay, + On the dragon’s tail we are whisked away, + And faster we whiz by the glistening shore,-- + Towns spin past as we ride with a roar. + + Now the iron throat is gasping astrain + As the beast up the mountains is dragging his train. + O where are you taking us, monster of steel? + Out in the darkness the pine-trees reel! + + Over the desert we swing and fly, + Towns and prairies are flashing by; + When, lo! to your castle you plunge in the night,-- + The great walls tower in ghostly light. + + Does a princess live in that tall black tower? + Are all of the people here under your power? + I never was certain that dragons were true + Till I got on your tail and rode with you! + + + + + SPORTS + + + SNAP-the-whip and tug-of-war-- + What is all this tussle for? + Hare-and-hounds and prisoners-base, + Just to make you puff and race! + + Balls to bat and balls to kick + Make you nimble, make you quick; + And anyhow I like to play, + So come on boys,--hurray, hurray! + + + + + THE SWIMMING POOL + + + WE boys love to swim on a hot summer day + In the pool where the pond-lilies float; + There’s Willie and Frankie and Bennie and Jay + Adrift in a leaky old boat. + + As Ben splashes under, a kingfisher cries: + “You’ll frighten my fish with your noise,” + While the frog on the lily-pad croaks in surprise: + “What awkward great creatures are boys!” + + The poor little catfish way down in the mud + Can’t imagine what’s coming its way + As Frank dives head-first with a splash and a thud, + Close followed by Willie and Jay. + + Then to lie in the sand when the swimming is done, + While the skater-bugs dance on the stream! + Just a tickle of wind and a shower of sun + And a sigh of content as we dream! + + + + + A SONG OF LEONARDE + + + SUNSHINE boy of the world of play, + Laughing out in the wind away, + Singing free as a song-bird wild,-- + O that is the way of my elfin child! + + Love in the heart thro’ the day-bright hours, + Joy on the lips like the smiling flowers, + Peace on the face when the night is starred + And sleep steals over my Leonarde. + + + + + SONGS OF THE WILDWOOD + + + + + A CHILD’S BOOK + + + THERE are many good books, my child, + But the best of them all for you + Is the book that is hid in the greenwood wild, + All bound in a cover of blue. + + ’Tis the book of the birds and the bees, + Of the flowers and the fish in the brook; + You may learn how to read if you go to the trees + And open your eyes and look. + + [Illustration: A child holds a book] + + + + + A LESSON + + + TELL me little spider, + Who taught you how to spin? + Tell me little minnow, + How you learned to use your fin? + + Tell me little swallow, + Who taught you how to fly? + And they each said, “It is easy + If you only try and try.” + + [Illustration: How? It is easy if you try] + + + + + A WINTER WALK + + + IN the Berkeley Hills for miles away + I went a-roaming one winter’s day, + And what do you think I saw, my dear? + A place where the sky came down to the hill, + And a big white cloud on the fresh green grass, + And bright red berries my basket to fill, + And mustard that grew in a golden mass,-- + All on a winter’s day, my dear! + + + + + WINTER RAIN IN CALIFORNIA + + + SEE the little drops of rain, + Falling, falling, + Softly calling + Flowers back to life again. + + First the blades of grass appear, + Upward creeping, + Shyly peeping + O’er the meadow far and near. + + Then the mustard spreads its gold,-- + Opes its flowers + To the showers, + Little heeding winter’s cold. + + Poppies’ velvet petals glow; + Each new-comer + Thinks ’tis summer, + Though the winter breezes blow. + + And the little drops of rain, + Softly falling + Still are calling + Flowers forth on hill and plain. + + + + + MR. WIND + + + O APRIL fields are fair to see-- + Tum tiddle tum, tiddle tum tum tee! + The grass and the snow play at hide and seek, + And the sun ’round the rim of a cloud will peek; + O fie and fiddle and ha ha he! + + Up came an old man as I sang my song, + With a “Hi, Johnnie, hi; skip along, skip along!” + “And who are you, sir?” said I; and quoth he: + “Mr. Wind is my name, hop along with me”; + So we skipped and we hopped along long long. + + O his beard was towsled, his hair blew free-- + Tum tiddle tum; little matter to me! + For he whistled and piped as we danced away, + And the best of companions I found him in play-- + O fie and fiddle and ha ha he! + + + + + WILD WOOD BOGIES + + + HIST little toddlekins, whisk and away! + Now is the time for the bogies to play; + Patter of foot-pads and eyes brightly glowing, + Noses that sniffle the night breezes blowing, + Bogies are romping the wildwood in glee, + Frisking and scampering, nimble and free. + + Who are the velvet-foot, fire-eyed bogies? + Coons and coyotes and wild woodland roguies! + Playing at night-time when baby’s asleep; + Whisk! did you see that ghost jack-rabbit leap? + “Boo!” and “Boo-hoo!” cries the fluffy horned-owl, + And the wolf in the pine-woods calls back with a howl. + + The panther slinks on in the trail of the deer, + The wood-rats have run to their tunnels in fear, + And down the steep mountain with snuffling and shuffling + A clumsy she-bear with her cubbies is scuffling; + For night is the time for the bogies to roam,-- + Hist, little toddlekins, fly to your home! + + + + + THE COYOTE + + + CROUCHING in his monkish gray, + Crunching at his dying prey, + Furtive eyes and pricking ears, + Haunted by a hundred fears!-- + Yet the cotton-tail trembles to see him pass + With his pat pat patter on the parching grass! + + Lolling tongue and panting sides,-- + ’Mid the tawny grass he hides. + Lowered is his bushy tail, + Keen of snout he sniffs the trail; + But he yelps and howls like a mad thing at night, + With his kai yi yi in the moon’s dim light. + + Friendless prowler, sage-brush thief, + Hunted rover, desert chief! + Even you who friendless roam + Have a loving mate at home,-- + And her little ones yelp in their lair with delight + As she pat pat patters anear through the night. + + [Illustration: A coyote] + + + + + THE HUMMINGBIRD + + + BUZ-Z! whir-r!--a flash and away! + A midget bejeweled ’mid flowers at play! + A snip of a birdling, the blossom-bells’ king, + A waif of the sun-beams on quivering wing! + + O prince of the fairies, O pigmy of fire, + Will nothing those brave little wings of yours tire? + You follow the flowers from southern lands sunny, + You pry amid petals all summer for honey. + + Now rest on a twig, tiny flowerland sprite, + Your dear little lady sits near in delight; + In a wee felted basket she lovingly huddles,-- + Two dots of white eggs to her warm breast she cuddles! + + Whiz-z! whiff! off to your flowers! + Buzz ’mid the perfume of jasmine bowers! + Chatter and chirrup, my king of the fays, + And laugh at the song that I sing in your praise. + + [Illustration: A hummingbird] + + + + + THE ROAD-RUNNER + + + A GRAY-STREAKED road-runner scurrying by + In a sage-brush valley, I happened to spy,-- + Long-legged and thin-billed, with a stretched-out tail, + And a comical body as thin as a rail! + + Oh surely, I thought, what a sad slim fowl + Compared with his neighbor the well-fed owl! + Till he pounced on a snake with a rapturous squeak, + And rapped the poor reptile a clip with his beak. + + Then why is he nothing but feathers and skin? + Is it running so fast that has worn him so thin? + Just think what would happen, my lad, to you, + If you ran all day like a ground cuckoo. + + [Illustration: A road-runner] + + + + + THE BURROWING OWL + + + MY blinkety owlet atop of your mound, + Is your mate tucked away in a hole in the ground? + You bare-footed gnome in your striped suit of dun, + With your fluffy white babies that bask in the sun! + + See her bobbing and blinking + As if she were thinking + Of the poor lady cricket + That chirps in the thicket! + + With a snap and a chatter + Mrs. Owlet is at her, + And whisk! she is beaten + And crunched up and eaten!-- + That poor lady cricket + That chirped in the thicket! + + My blinkety owlet, go down in your hole, + And sleep in your nest like a squirrel or mole! + Who’d think that a bird could have toes for a trowel + To grub in the ground like a burrowing owl! + + + + + THE CRESTED JAY + + + THE jay is a jovial bird,--heigh-ho! + He chatters all day + In a frolicsome way + With the murmuring breezes that blow,--heigh-ho! + + Hear him noisily call + From a red-wood tree tall + To his mate in the opposite tree, heigh-ho! + Saying: “How do you do?” + As his top-knot of blue + Is raised as polite as can be,--heigh-ho! + + Oh impudent jay + With your plumage so gay + And your manners so jaunty and free,--heigh-ho! + How little you guessed + When you robbed the wren’s nest, + That any stray fellow would see,--heigh-ho! + + [Illustration: Any stray fellow would see] + + + + + TROUBLE IN THE TREES + + + THE birds had a meeting,-- + The owl was judge; + But a jay came along + And said ’twas all fudge. + + With a quill in his ear + The shore-lark was clerk; + The wren was a witness, + And how she did perk! + + The king-bird was sheriff + And brought in the shrike, + When a goldfinch could scarcely + Conceal her dislike. + + What talking and squawking, + What whetting of bills! + What ruffling of feathers, + What bristling of quills! + + Till a fox heard the chatter + And pounced on the jay, + When swallows and sparrows + And all flew away! + + [Illustration: An owl] + + + + + THE SQUIRREL + + + IT must be risky + To frolic so frisky + Up in a swaying tree; + To scamper and skip + On a pine tree’s tip + As you chatter away at me! + + Now what’s your hurry, + You wood-imp furry, + In your snug little suit of gray? + You romp and rolic + With fun and frolic + Like wind with the leaves at play. + + O nervous nixie + With ways so trixie, + Fidgety sprite so frail! + Sit up and munch + At your pine-nut lunch + In the shade of your bushy tail! + + [Illustration: A squirrel munching a pine-nut] + + + + + THE POLLIWOG THAT LOST ITS TAIL + + + A WIGGLY little polliwog lived in a pool + On the edge of a stream where the water was cool, + Till one day he turned very green and pale + For he found that he surely was losing his tail, + And legs were sprouting and he caught the croup + As he crawled up the bank with a hoarse, “Ge-loup! + Ca-thump, ca-lump, ca-chug, ca-chook! + + Oh what can have happened?” he asked with a croak; + “This seems like a regular bull-frog joke.” + Then he stretched his legs for a mighty jump, + And right in the water he landed ka-plump; + Which made him smile from ear to ear, + For he felt so very delightfully queer + As he called to his mate, “I’m a frog, my dear!” + + [Illustration: Frog stretches his legs for a mighty jump] + + + + + THE HORNED TOAD + + + HORNYKINS, Hornykins, open your eye, + For close to your nose is a blue-bottle fly! + Toadykins ruffle your spines and your frills + And scurry away on the rocks to the hills! + + Little squat goblin, all bristling with spikes, + Flattened-out lizard that nobody likes, + Stone-colored hermit of sage-brush and sand, + You’re the drollest hobgoblin of no-baby’s land! + + [Illustration: Horned toad] + + + + + A FAIRY IN A FLOWER + + + A TINY gold fairy flew into a flower + One morning at cock-crow, to hide from a shower; + The drops fell a patter upon his tent roof, + But what did it matter while leaves were rain proof? + + He found in the flower fine honey to eat; + “So-so,” sang the fairy, “the food here is sweet! + No prince in his palace fares better than I, + Alone in my chalice with storms blowing by!” + + Now what do you think is the name of this fairy + Who hid from the shower in lily-bell airy? + His coat is bright yellow, black banded with fuzz;-- + This bumble-bee gay with his musical buzz! + + + + + BUTTERCUP + + + BUTTERCUP, buttercup, + Why don’t you hurry up + Out of the ground so cold! + With your little coat yellow, + You dear little fellow, + Why doesn’t your blossom unfold? + + [Illustration: Waiting for the buttercup blossom to unfold] + + + + + THE COLUMBINE + + + FIVE doves the fairies took away + To the deep dark wood one summer day, + And they hung them up on a slender spray,-- + Heigh-ho for the columbine! + + Red and gold were the doves they took; + With heads outstretched the birdlings shook, + Till the fairies sang them to sleep by the brook,-- + Heigh-ho for the columbine! + + + + + THE LEOPARD LILY + + + IN the forest stilly + The leopard lily + Sways on her stem so stately; + Tall as a child + In the mountains wild, + She stands and nods sedately. + + Orange and red + Is her dappled head + And her anthers brown are a-quiver; + O fie on you, lily, + So vain and silly + To look at yourself in the river! + + + + + JOHNNY JUMP-UP + + + AS I walked under a black-oak tree + A little Johnny Jump-up laughed at me. + Here you yellow elf, + Go and laugh to yourself, + Or wink at the cricket that chirps on your knee. + Ha ha ha! he he he! + Merry Johnny Jump-up, wild and free! + + + + + SONG OF THE BROWN LILY + + + FAIRY bells of green and brown + Hanging high in a fairy town, + With cloth of gold beneath them spread + And mossy nooks for the fairies’ bed! + + Who is it rings the fairy bells, + Ding dong! ding dong! down in the dells! + Who is it flits to the fairies’ ball? + The bee and the beetle have heard their call, + Ding dong! ding dong! down in the dells! + + + + + SHOOTING STAR FLOWERS + + + STARS of childhood, + Stars of the wildwood, + Shooting stars of purple and pink, + Stars that hang in trembling showers, + Stars of spring that are more than flowers, + Swinging blithe at the cañon’s brink! + + Birds are playing + Above you, swaying, + Beloved stars of the woodland spring! + Children shout and sing when they see you, + And where is the fairy who dares to free you, + Joyous spirits that sway and swing! + + + + + THE SCARLET LARKSPUR + + + MERRY wee red-coats were frisking and dancing + Down in the rocky glen, + And the jolly old sun o’er the mountains was glancing + At the merry wee red-coated men. + + Each little man had a horn on his head, + And the old sun laughed as he got out of bed! + The wind played a tune + And they danced until noon, + And, “A jolly good time we’ve had,” they said. + + + + + THE TRILLIUM + + + O TRILLIUM dear + I am glad you are here, + While March rains are pattering, + Brooklets are clattering, + Kinglets are chattering, + And you, pretty thing, + Are just smiling and dreaming of spring. + + O shade-loving sprite, + The cañon’s delight,-- + Three petals wine-red, + Three leaves broadly spread, + You leap from your bed + In joy, pretty thing, + To sway in the breezes of spring. + + + + + BABY BLUE-EYES + + + BONNY baby blue-eyes + Twinkling in the grass, + Smiling on the sunny hill + To see the children pass! + + Of all the flowers of spring-time + The fairest and the frailest! + There’s gladness in your baby eyes,-- + The purest and the palest! + + + + + WHO KNOWS ROSALIE? + + + WHO knows Rosalie? + There goes Rosalie + Out where her roses are growing! + The dear little tot + With her watering pot + Where the daisies are nodding and blowing. + + It’s six o’ the clock + And the lily bells rock + In the merry warm month of July; + And Rosalie tells + All the whispering bells + Of the tear in the violet’s eye. + + + + + TO A WILD ROSE + + + DEAR little rose, so sweet and fair, + You give your perfume to the air, + You give your honey to the bee, + And all the day long you smile at me. + + O teach me, little rose, the way + To smile at people all the day, + To give from my heart-store the sweet + To every one I chance to meet. + + + + + THE QUEEN OF THE FAIRIES + + + I WANT to go out in the woods and play + That I am the queen of the fairies to-day; + So I’ll gather some stars from the midnight sky + (There are plenty to spare in the jewels on high) + And I’ll have them set in a crown of gold; + For a sceptre a tiger lily I’ll hold; + A violet bed will be my throne + And the beautiful world will be mine alone. + + I’ll make one law my realm to bind, + That everybody must just be kind + And love all children and flowers and birds + And always speak in gentle words. + What a happy land will my kingdom be + Where hopes are high and hearts are free! + + + + + QUIPS AND CRANKS + + + + + MY AUNTIE + + + HOW would you like to have for an auntie + Kittie ka dink ka dee ka dantie? + Kittie ka dink + With frolicsome wink, + Kittie ka dink + With ruffles of pink, + Kittie ka dink,-- + Now what do you think + Of Kittie ka dink for an auntie? + + Kittie ka dink ka dee + Is as bright as a bumble bee, + Kittie ka dink ka dee, + She dresses my dolls for me! + Kittie ka dink ka dee,-- + + If you knew her I’m sure you’d agree + That Kittie ka dink + With frolicsome wink + In ruffles of pink, + Is the jolliest kind of an auntie! + + [Illustration: Kittie ka dink] + + + + + THE BEAR HUNTER + + + IF I should meet a grizzly bear + A-roaming from his mountain lair, + I’d just get down on hands and knees + And growl around among the trees. + + Then if my growling didn’t scare + That great ferocious grizzly bear, + I’d sing a song and at my ease + Just try my best the bear to please. + + + + + TRYING TO PLAY + + + O A gentleman dressed in a high top hat + Rode on a hobby-horse just like that. + “Mr. Man, Mr. Man, O what is the matter?” + “Little boy, let me hear no more of your chatter.” + + So he pranced and he kicked till his glasses fell off, + And he puffed and he choked till it made him cough; + Then he stopped and said in his solemn way, + “My child, I was merely attempting to play.” + + + + + MAGGIE MULDOON + + + O DOWN at Milpitas there was an old hag + Who drove to town with a bobtail nag. + She rattled along in a rickety rig, + With a red bandana to cover her wig. + + When a wheel came off and she tumbled ka-flop, + She hobbled away to the blacksmith shop; + And the blacksmith said: “O Maggie Muldoon, + If you’ll dance me a breakdown I’ll sing you a tune!” + + + + + THE BOOBITY BUMPKIN + + + A BOOBITY bumpity bumpkin + Was sent to town with a pumpkin, + But he stumbled and tripped + As he hippity skipped, + And smackety smash went the pumpkin! + + + + + FARMER JONES’S GOAT + + + OLD Farmer Jones had a frisky old goat + That wore a long beard and a hairy black coat, + With hoofs on its feet and horns on its head, + And a sad hungry look on its face while it fed. + + Now what do you think was its favorite caper? + It would eat Farmer Jones’s weekly Saturday paper; + But the diet was more than the goat could endure, + So it fed upon sawdust and rags for a cure. + + + + + POOR MR. MIDAS + + + O POOR Mr. Midas did nothing but think + Of the sound that his money made,--chink, chink, chink! + He filled his pockets, he filled his shoes, + But the more he gathered the less he could use. + + It weighed on his mind till he scarce slept a wink, + And then he would dream of the chink, chink, chink. + He filled his boxes, he filled his bed, + And so there was nothing to fill but his head. + + + + + THREE WISE MEN + + + THREE wise men sailed away on a bat, + But the one who was bald forgot his hat; + The one who made music forgot his fife, + And the one who was married forgot his wife. + + The bat flew straight to the Man in the Moon, + And they said, “Kind sir, is it night or noon?” + So the Man in the Moon his brain he racked + And decided the three wise men were cracked. + + + + + A GOBBLER IN TROUBLE + + + O WHAT would the turkey gobbler do + If he got the hiccoughs before he was through + With his gobble-gobble-gobble-gobble-gobble? + + I’m sure that he could never see through the joke + If he started to gobble and stopped to choke + In his gobble-gobble-gobble-gobble-gobble. + + The puffed-out fool would grow red in the face, + And the hens would laugh at their lord’s disgrace, + At his gobble, hic! gobble, hic! gobble-gobble-gobble! + + + + + THE TALE OF A POOR LITTLE WORM + + + JUST listen to that, + Rat-atat-tat! + “’Tis a woodpecker,” whispered a worm. + As he crouched in a cranny + He called to his granny, + “Hark hark, hark hark, + Rap-a-tap on the bark, + That noise makes me shiver and squirm!” + + Then a long barbed tongue + Right through him was flung, + And down in the gizzard he wallowed; + It made him grow pale + Till he thought of the whale + With Jonah inside, + Then he shivered and cried: + “’Tis a fatal mistake to be swallowed.” + + + + + RHYMES FOR TODDLERS + + + + + TO PUSSY WHITE + + + LITTLE white furrykins, + Sly pussie purrykins, + Snoozing all day by the grate + Pinky-nosed kittie cat, + Who wouldn’t pity that + Snip of a mouse that you ate! + + Hittlety skittlety, + Mousie squeaked, “Mercy me!”-- + Off went his head with a snap; + Ere he knew what had jolted him, + Kittie had bolted him + And stretched herself out for a nap. + + + + + CHINA DOLLS + + + THERE are china cups and china dolls + And Chinamen galore, + All huddled in together + In a little China store. + + The china cups are pretty + And the china dolls, O dear, + I wish I had a hundred + Sitting round me now, right here. + + But the Chinaman that sells them, + With his slits of eyes askew, + And hair all braided down his back + In such a funny queue!-- + + If all his dolls should grow and grow + Until like him they grew, + And I should have the care of them, + O dear, what would I do? + + + + + DOLLIE’S LULLABY + + + DOLLIE’S in the cradle + Falling fast asleep; + Hush, little mamma, + Run and take a peep. + + Whisper low to dollie: + “Dream of pleasant things, + Fairies in the doll house + A-dance in fairy rings; + + “Fairies round the cradle + Flying to and fro, + Singing in the moonlight + Fairy music low.” + + Shut are dollie’s eyelids, + Cover up her arm; + Keep the little dollie dear + Safe from every harm. + + [Illustration: Covering Dollie in the cradle] + + + + + BABY LIFE + + + WHAT can little baby do? + Clap his hands and coo and coo; + Kick and roll and smile and grow,-- + That is why we love him so! + + [Illustration: Baby] + + + + + LITTLE BROTHER + + + LITTLE brother full of glee, + With dainty hand and dimpled knee, + Chubby little laughing boy, + Father’s pride and Mother’s joy! + + Ringlets gold on shapely head, + Smiles that break ere tears have fled, + Eyes of blue that open wide, + Wondering at the world outside! + + Merry spirit, sweetly wild, + Why are you, my precious child, + Dearer far than any other + Loving sister’s little brother? + + + + + PLAYING HORSE + + + HORSE and cart and tinkling lines, + Rattling under the passion vines; + Up the road and down the lane + And round the yard to the door again! + + Babe is driver, snap the whip! + Watch the turn and don’t you tip. + Nero barks as the chickens scatter, + Dust is flying and cart-wheels clatter. + + Nell, the cook at the kitchen door, + Wonders what the noise is for. + Round the house on the run they go + Till baby calls to the horsie,--“whoa!” + + + + + MY DONKEY + + + MY little Donkey is a dear, + We call her Mistress Bunny, + Her ears are very long and queer + And her voice is O so funny,-- + Haw-he, haw-he, haw-he! + + I saddle her and bridle her + And on her back I climb + To ride around the Berkeley streets + And have a happy time,-- + Haw-he, haw-he, haw-he! + + I tied her with a long, long rope + Where she could eat the grass, + But O my burro broke her rope + And ran away, alas! + Haw-he, haw-he, haw-he! + + + + + BABY IN THE BARNYARD + + + BABY with the big blue eyes, + Tell me why you look so wise + When you watch the kitties play, + Or old Billy eating hay. + + Do the horses talk to you, + Baby with the eyes of blue? + Can you tell me what they say + When they look at you and neigh? + + And the romping kitties, too, + When they cry out, mew, mew, mew, + Have they secrets, baby dear, + Only meant for you to hear? + + When the doggie says, bow-wow + To the lazy muley-cow, + And the cow replies, moo, moo, + Are they talking still to you? + + And the piggie in her pen, + Grunting to the setting hen, + Ugh, ugh, ugh, can baby tell + What the piggie means to spell? + + Lying in her bed at morn, + Baby hears a lusty horn + Sounding, rook-a-dook-a-doo! + And baby laughs as if she knew. + + Baby loves them, one and all, + And she answers when they call; + And they tell her wondrous tales + Of the barnyard, hills and dales. + + + + + BABY’S GOOD-NIGHT + + + LITTLE eyes droop in the dim evening light; + Wave your hand, little maiden, good-bye, good-night; + + Throw a kiss to the doggie--he’s wagging his tail-- + And wave to the muley-cow down in the dale. + + Hark! hark! she is ringing good-night with her bell;-- + Now toss to the kitties a sweet farewell. + + Good-night to the birds, in the branches asleep, + Good-night to the stars that twinkle and peep; + + Good-night to the horn of the moon in the west, + And toddle away to your warm little nest. + + [Illustration: Wave your hand, little maiden, good-bye, good-night] + + + + + DOGS + + + I HAVE many little doggie friends; + There’s Jip who wags at both his ends, + And Buddie like a ball of silk, + Who laps the cream and sniffs at milk, + And Judie with her rubber ball + Who never minds me when I call, + And Rab who runs before the horse,-- + I love to hear him bark, of course, + ’Cept sometimes he most barks in two, + And then I wish he’d stop, don’t you? + + + + + MY ANIMALS + + + HAVE you seen my little animals + Shut in a paper house?-- + There’s a donkey and a camel + With a kittie and a mouse; + + There’s a doggie and an elephant, + A lion and a bear, + All huddled in together, + And they never seem to care! + + O I’m very, very hungry + And I think I’d like to eat + The donkey and the lion + And the elephant for meat; + + They are all made out of crackers, + And if Mamma says I may, + I’ll eat a half a bag of them + And give the rest away. + + [Illustration: Boy with bag of acrackers] + + + + + BROWN BABY BALLADS + + + + + SIX LITTLE ESKIMO + + + SIX jolly little Eskimo + Lived in the land of ice and snow. + They played with their ivory dolls all night + In a stuffy igloo with a smoky oil light. + I wouldn’t live in a smoky igloo, + Would you? + + They dressed in seal-skin from hood to heel; + I wonder how such a suit would feel! + They chewed their blubber and smacked their lips + And wiggled their toes and finger tips, + But I wouldn’t like such food to chew, + Would you? + + And when they were tired of eating and play + Their mammas stowed them safely away + In the big white skin of a polar bear. + Six little black heads in a row were there, + But I wouldn’t like to be one of that crew, + Would you? + + [Illustration: Little Eskimo dressed in seal-skin] + + + + + PICCANINNY LULLABY + + + BAH low mah littl’ honey, + Bah low, littl’ piccaninny boy, + Shoo, shoo, littl’ coon, mah sonny, + Stop yoh winkin’ at yoh mammy, littl’ joy. + + Sh! Sh! de wind comes creepin’, + Now cuddle close to mammy--so--so. + Quit yoh fussin’, don’ yoh know it’s time foh sleepin’ + When de moon peeks in an’ tells yoh, littl’ Joe? + + Go to sleep, shut yoh eyes, littl’ coon + Or de Voodoo come an’ fetch yoh right away; + Carry yoh cleah up into de moon, + An’ den what would yoh poh old mammy say? + + + + + THE MEXICAN BABIES + + + THE Mexican babies are chubby and gay; + Each family has ten or a dozen, + And all in the town are related, they say, + From a first to a twentieth cousin. + + The house is adobe, the floor is of dirt; + In the patio sheltered and sunny + The babies can toddle with never a shirt + While their mammas can sing without money. + + If the little black-headed brown baby should cry, + Or madre grow sick of his prattle, + His tears in an instant his sister can dry + With the end of a snake for a rattle. + + Their little black dogs are a sight to behold, + All hairless and wrinkled as mummies; + With blankets about them to keep out the cold, + And the babies about them for chummies. + + How happy these imps from the day they are born,-- + They toddle and tumble in tatters; + Their faces are dirty, their clothes are all torn, + But nobody thinks that it matters. + + + + + THE LITTLE PIUTE + + + UP in Winnemucca in Piute land, + Where the hot sun falls on the sage-brush sand, + A little papoose in a basket lay, + Fat as a badger and ready for play. + + Mahali was proud of the way he grew + Upon acorn soup and on pine-nut stew; + She caught him a lizard and let it wiggle, + Which set him off in a Piute giggle. + + But the brush hut is lonely, for father’s not there; + In ghost-land he’s hunting the bison and bear. + Soon you will follow; alas--too soon, + As your clan moves on toward the setting moon! + + + + + THE HONOLULU BOY + + + COCOANUT milk and poi, + Cocoanut curds and fish, + For the Honolulu boy,-- + What more could a baby wish? + + Taro and yams and chicken,-- + Baby shall have a feast,-- + Bones of the pig for pickin’, + Fat little face well greased! + + A sleep in the house of grasses, + A swim in the cool lagoon, + A kiss as the trade wind passes, + And a low Kanaka tune! + + + + + A SAMOA SLEEPY-SONG + + + LIE on your mat, little tama, and sleep; + The pigeon has gone to its rest in the palm; + I see the bright moon through the ifi trees peep, + And the sleepy waves sing on the coral reef calm. + + Sing to my tama, soft waves of the sea; + Some day he’ll ride in his rocking canoe,-- + Ride on your laughing crests, happy and free, + Joyous to roll on your rollicking blue. + + Sleep, little tama, the bats flutter low, + The breeze through the breadfruit-tree sighs to the star; + And out on the water, with torches aglow, + Your father and brother are fishing afar. + + Tina will tuck the siapo around; + Sleep, little chief, for the spirits are nigh! + Fish-gods and wind-gods, and gods of the ground + Watch my brown baby as round him they fly! + + [Illustration: Lie on your mat, little tama, and sleep] + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75901 *** |