Under my window, under my window,
All in the Midsummer weather,
Three little girls with fluttering curls
Flit to and fro together:—
There ’s Bell with her bonnet of satin sheen,
And Maud with her mantle of silver-green,
And Kate with her scarlet feather.
Under my window, under my window,
Leaning stealthily over,
...
At evening when the lamp is lit,
Around the fire my parents sit;
They sit at home and talk and sing,
And do not play at anything.
Now, with my little gun, I crawl
All in the dark along the wall,
And follow round the forest track
Away behind the sofa back.
There, in the night, where none can spy,
All in my hunter’s camp...
Beside the old hall-fire—upon my nurse’s knee,
Of happy fairy days—what tales were told to me!
I thought the world was once—all peopled with princesses,
And my heart would beat to hear—their loves and their distresses;
And many a quiet night—in slumber sweet and deep,
The pretty fairy people—would visit me in sleep.
I saw them in my dreams—come...
The Wind one morning sprang up from sleep,
Saying, “Now for a frolic! now for a leap!
Now for a mad-cap galloping chase!
I ’ll make a commotion in every place!”
So it swept with a bustle right through a great town,
Creaking the signs, and scattering down
Shutters; and whisking, with merciless squalls,
Old women’s bonnets and gingerbread...
I Saw you toss the kites on high
And blow the birds about the sky;
And all around I heard you pass,
Like ladies’ skirts across the grass—
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
I saw the different things you did,
But always you yourself you hid.
I felt you push, I heard you call,
I could...
Said the Raggedy Man on a hot afternoon,
“My!
Sakes!
What a lot o’ mistakes
Some little folks makes on the Man in the Moon!
But people that ’s been up to see him like Me,
And calls on him frequent and intimutly,
Might drop a few hints that would interest you
Clean!
Through!...
A Midsummer Legend
“AND where have you been, my Mary,
And where have you been from me?”
“I ’ve been to the top of the Caldon Low,
The midsummer-night to see.”
“And what did you see, my Mary,
All up on the Caldon Low?”
“I saw the glad sunshine come down,
And I saw the merry winds blow.”
“And what did you hear, my...
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...
I Passed by a garden, a little Dutch garden,
Where useful and pretty things grew,—
Heart’s-ease and tomatoes, and pinks and potatoes,
And lilies and onions and rue.
I saw in that garden, that little Dutch garden,
A chubby Dutch man with a spade,
And a rosy Dutch frau with a shoe like a scow,
And a flaxen-haired little Dutch maid...
“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...
