Moral Song
Oh, so cool
In his deep green pool
Was a frog on a log one day!
He would blink his eyes
As he snapped at flies,
For his mother was away,
For his mother was away!
Now that naughty frog
Left his own home log
And started out to play.
He flipped and he flopped
And he never stopped
Till he reached the great blue bay,
Till he reached the great blue bay!
Alas, with a swish
Came a mighty fish,
And swallowed him where he lay.
Now it's things like this
That never miss
Little frogs who don't obey,
Little frogs who don't obey!
Serious Omission
I know that there are dragons,
St. George's, Jason's, too,
And many modern dragons
With scales of green and blue;
But though I've been there many times
And carefully looked through,
I can't find a dragon
In the cages at the zoo!
Choice
If I had just one penny
On the Fourth of July,
Oh, what a problem it would be
To think what I should buy!
With lollypops and fire-works,
With cakes and whiz-bangs, too,
With tops and candy cigarettes,
Whatever should I do?
Torpedoes have a splendid noise,
But noise is quickly past,
And the sweetness of a lollypop
Is something that will last.
Natural Fireworks
The fireflies in the valley
Are having their display
Among the river willows
Like little bits of day!
Come, light your silver sparkler
And wave it in the air.
Go dance among the willows
And sprinkle sparkles there.
Then, oh, the world will wonder
To see the willows shine,
And even the fireflies will not know
Their tiny sparks from mine.
Conspiracy
The sun has a face that is laughing and red
When nurse pulls me out in the morning from bed;
But he's not half so sly as the silly old moon,
Who winks when I'm sent to my bedroom too soon.
Cuckoo Clock
The cuckoo in the clock by day
Is usually very gay;
And that's because, with people near,
There's not a thing for him to fear;
But when the sitting room is dim
And no one's there to welcome him—
How tremblingly he must come out
To flap his wings and look about.
Why! Only just the other night
The cuckoo stopped the clock from fright!
The Sentinel
I'm only a little toy dough-boy,
And I have neither sorrows nor fears;
But I patiently wait,
With my gun pointed straight
And my helmet pulled down on my ears.
The ugly wood lions and tigers
May show their white teeth if they please,
If the whole Noah's ark
Should threaten and bark
It wouldn't unstiffen my knees.
And some day when you are a soldier
With your helmet pulled down on your ears
I'll still be as straight
As I wonder and wait,
Standing my watch through the years.
Royalty
If I should meet a king or queen
Upon the street some day,
Do you think that I'd be frightened?
Why, I'd know just what to say.
"Your reverend majesties," I'd say,
And humbly bow the knee,
"I am your very humble swain,
And will you honor me?"
The king would strike my shoulder
With a sword of passing might,
He'd lift me grandly to my feet,
He'd say, "Arise, O Knight!"
Oh, I would not be frightened,
For I've seen kings galore,
Don't you think it's just to learn of them
That playing cards are for?
Crackers
Oh, there are very many kinds
Of crackers, great and small,
Saltines and ginger-snaps and such,
I'd like to eat them all;
But there's a kind of cracker
That I
need much worse,
A bright red giant cracker
To set off under nurse!
The Drum
The drum's a very quiet fellow
When he's left alone;
But oh, how he does roar and bellow,
Rattle, snap and groan,
Clatter, spatter, dash and patter,
Rumble, shriek and moan
Whene'er I take my sticks in hand
And beat him soundly for the band.
Theatricals
Now I'll play at being queen,
Hold my head quite stiff and haughty,
Always proud and never naughty,
Sweeping grandly down the green.
Or I'll be a moonlight fairy,
Bobbing lightly on the river,
Dancing where the shadows quiver,
Winged and shining, swift and wary.
If the doctor thinks I'm sick,
He's just silly.
I am not!
I'm just tired and very hot,
Hating drink that's sweet and thick.
Flowers dance across the walls,
Mother's face seems far away,
She's the audience, I'm the play,
She will clap for curtain calls.
No!—I do not want to play!
Seven thrones around my bed,
Circling gold about my head—
Angels always fly away!
Sally
If I were a stately sailboat,
I'd sail to Zanzibar,
I'd sail the seven secret seas,
Where the secret cities are,
And some day I'd be sailing with the wind before my prow,
And all the mermaids of the sea would clamber up the bow.
They'd beckon me with laughter,
They'd beckon me with smiles,
They'd show me cakes and candies
In half a dozen styles,
They'd promise me a life of ease
Eating sweets beneath the seas,
They'd promise me a life of play—
A never ending holiday;
But I would say quite plainly,
And, oh, how stern I'd look!
Do you think that you can tempt me
While Sally is our cook?
If I were a little fire balloon
I'd float aloft to Mars,
I'd pay a call on Venus
And chatter with the stars,
And just as I'd be fluttering across the yellow moon,
The angels would come singing a solemn Sunday tune.
They'd beckon to me gravely,
They'd tell me I could stay,
They'd show me all the jewels
That pave the milky way.
They'd promise me a golden crown
And silver robes like eider-down,
They'd give me harps with shiny strings
And wonderfully fluffy wings;
BUT—I would tell them plainly
I didn't want to die—
Till all the angel cooks had learned
How Sally makes mince pie!