If this little world to-night
Suddenly should fall through space
In a hissing, headlong flight,
Shrivelling from off its face,
As it falls into the sun,
In an instant every trace
Of the little crawling things—
Ants, philosophers, and lice,
Cattle, cockroaches, and kings,
Beggars, millionaires, and mice,
...
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Very dark the autumn sky,
Dark the clouds that hurried by;
Very rough the autumn breeze
Shouting rudely to the trees.Listening, frightened, pale, and cold,
Through the withered leaves and mould
Peered a violet all in dread—
“Where, oh, where is spring?” she said.Sighed the trees, “Poor little thing!
She may... -
Once hoary Winter chanced—alas!
Alas! hys waye mistaking—
A leafless apple-tree to pass
Where Spring lay dreaming. “Fie, ye lass!
Ye lass had best he waking,”
Quoth he, and shook hys robe, and, lo!
Lo! forth didde flye a cloud of snowe.Now in ye bough an elfe there dwelte,
An elfe of wondrous powere,
That when ye... -
Under a toadstool
Crept a wee Elf,
Out of the rain,
To shelter himself.Under the toadstool,
Sound asleep,
Sat a big Dormouse
All in a heap.Trembled the wee Elf,
Frightened, and yet
Fearing to fly away
Lest he get wet.To the next shelter—
Maybe a mile!
Sudden... -
This, children, is the famed Mon-goos.
He has an ap-pe-tite ab-struse:
Strange to re-late, this crea-ture takes
A cu-ri-ous joy in eat-ing snakes—
All kinds—though, it must be con-fessed,
He likes the poi-son-ous ones the best.
From him we learn how ve-ry small
A thing can bring a-bout a Fall.
O Mon-goos, where were you that day... -
Under a toadstool
Crept a wee Elf,
Out of the rain,
To shelter himself.Under the toadstool,
Sound asleep,
Sat a big Dormouse
All in a heap.Trembled the wee Elf,
Frightened, and yet
Fearing to fly away
Lest he get wet.To the next shelter—
Maybe a mile!
Sudden... -
“oh dear! is Summer over?”
I heard a rosebud moan,
When first her eyes she opened,
And found she was alone.“Oh, why did Summer leave me,
Little me, belated?
Where are the other roses?
I think they might have waited.”Soon the little rosebud
Saw to her surprise
Other rosebuds opening,
So she... -
Very dark the autumn sky,
Dark the clouds that hurried by;
Very rough the autumn breeze
Shouting rudely to the trees.Listening, frightened, pale, and cold,
Through the withered leaves and mold
Peered a violet all in dread—
“Where, oh, where is spring?” she said.Sighed the trees, “Poor little thing!
She may...