The gentle wind and the balmy air, Little by little, bring verdure there; Till the summer sunbeams gayly smile On the buds and the flowers of the coral isle.

"Little by little," said a thoughtful boy, "Moment by moment, I'll well employ, Learning a little every day, And not spending all my time in play.

And still this rule in my mind shall dwell, _Whatever I do, I will do it well._

"Little by little, I'll learn to know The treasured wisdom of long ago; And one of these days, perhaps, we'll see That the world will be the better for me"; And do you not think that this simple plan Made him a wise and useful man?

_Anonymous._

THE FAIRY QUEEN

Come, follow, follow me-- You, fairy elves that be, Which circle on the green-- Come, follow Mab, your queen!

Hand in hand let's dance around, For this place is fairy ground.

When mortals are at rest, And snoring in their nest, Unheard and unespied, Through keyholes we do glide; Over tables, stools, and shelves, We trip it with our fairy elves.

And if the house be foul With platter, dish, or bowl, Upstairs we nimbly creep, And find the s.l.u.ts asleep; There we pinch their arms and thighs-- None escapes, nor none espies.

But if the house be swept, And from uncleanness kept, We praise the household maid, And duly she is paid; For we use, before we go, To drop a tester in her shoe.

Upon a mushroom's head Our tablecloth we spread; A grain of rye or wheat Is manchet, which we eat; Pearly drops of dew we drink, In acorn cups, fil'd to the brink.

The brains of nightingales, With unctuous fat of snails, Between two c.o.c.kles stew'd, Is meat that's easily chew'd; Tails of worms, and marrow of mice, Do make a dish that's wondrous nice.

The gra.s.shopper, gnat, and fly, Serve us for our minstrelsy; Grace said, we dance a while, And so the time beguile; And if the moon doth hide her head, The glow-worm lights us home to bed.

On tops of dewy gra.s.s So nimbly do we pa.s.s, The young and tender stalk Ne'er bends when we do walk; Yet in the morning may be seen Where we the night before have been.

_Anonymous._

A BUSY DAY

The bluff March wind set out from home Before the peep of day, But n.o.body seemed to be glad he had come, And n.o.body asked him to stay.

Yet he dried up the snow-banks far and near, And made the snow-clouds roll, Huddled up in a heap, like driven sheep, Way off to the cold North Pole.

He broke the ice on the river's back And floated it down the tide, And the wild ducks came with a loud "Quack, quack,"

To play in the waters wide.

He s.n.a.t.c.hed the hat off Johnny's head And rolled it on and on, And oh, what a merry chase it led Little laughing and scampering John!

He swung the tree where the squirrel lay Too late in its winter bed, And he seemed to say in his jolly way, "Wake up, little sleepy head!"

He dried the yard so that Rob and Ted Could play at marbles there, And he painted their cheeks a carmine red With the greatest skill and care.

He shook all the clothes-lines, one by one, What a busy time he had!

But n.o.body thanked him for all he had done; Now wasn't that just too bad?

_Anonymous._

A LAUGHING CHORUS

Oh, such a commotion under the ground When March called, "Ho, there! ho!"

Such spreading of rootlets far and wide, Such whispering to and fro; And, "Are you ready?" the Snowdrop asked, "'Tis time to start, you know."

"Almost, my dear," the Scilla replied; "I'll follow as soon as you go."

Then, "Ha! ha! ha!" a chorus came Of laughter soft and low, From the millions of flowers under the ground-- Yes--millions--beginning to grow.

"I'll promise my blossoms," the Crocus said, "When I hear the bluebirds sing."

And straight thereafter, Narcissus cried, "My silver and gold I'll bring."

"And ere they are dulled," another spoke, "The Hyacinth bells shall ring."

And the Violet only murmured, "I'm here,"

And sweet grew the air of spring.

Then, "Ha! ha! ha!" a chorus came Of laughter soft and low, From the millions of flowers under the ground-- Yes--millions--beginning to grow.

Oh, the pretty, brave things! through the coldest days, Imprisoned in walls of brown, They never lost heart though the blast shrieked loud, And the sleet and the hail came down, But patiently each wrought her beautiful dress, Or fashioned her beautiful crown; And now they are coming to brighten the world, Still shadowed by Winter's frown; And well may they cheerily laugh, "Ha! ha!"

In a chorus soft and low, The millions of flowers hid under the ground-- Yes--millions--beginning to grow.

_Anonymous._

THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER

The sun was shining on the sea, Shining with all his might: He did his very best to make The billows smooth and bright-- And this was odd, because it was The middle of the night.

The moon was shining sulkily, Because she thought the sun Had got no business to be there After the day was done-- "It's very rude of him," she said, "To come and spoil the fun!"

The sea was wet as wet could be, The sands were dry as dry.

You could not see a cloud, because No cloud was in the sky: No birds were flying overhead-- There were no birds to fly.

The Walrus and the Carpenter Were walking close at hand: They wept like anything to see Such quant.i.ties of sand: "If this were only cleared away,"

They said, "It would be grand!"

"If seven maids with seven mops Swept it for half a year, Do you suppose," the Walrus said, "That they could get it clear?"

"I doubt it," said the Carpenter, And shed a bitter tear.

"O Oysters, come and walk with us!"

The Walrus did beseech.

"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, Along the briny beach: We cannot do with more than four, To give a hand to each."

The eldest Oyster looked at him, But never a word he said: The eldest Oyster winked his eye, And shook his heavy head-- Meaning to say he did not choose To leave the oyster-bed.

But four young Oysters hurried up, All eager for the treat: Their coats were brushed, their faces washed, Their shoes were clean and neat-- And this was odd, because, you know, They hadn't any feet.

Four other Oysters followed them And yet another four; And thick and fast they came at last, And more, and more, and more-- All hopping through the frothy waves, And scrambling to the sh.o.r.e.

The Walrus and the Carpenter Walked on a mile or so, And then they rested on a rock Conveniently low: And all the little Oysters stood And waited in a row.

"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax-- Of cabbages--and kings-- And why the sea is boiling hot-- And whether pigs have wings."

"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried, "Before we have our chat; For some of us are out of breath, And all of us are fat!"

"No hurry!" said the Carpenter.