Poems Every Child Should Know: The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library | Page 8

the moon,
Rattlin' in an
airn jug wi' an airn spoon,
Rumblin' tumblin' roun' about, crowin' like
a cock,
Skirlin' like a kenna-what--wauknin' sleepin' folk.
Hey, Willie Winkie! the wean's in a creel!
Waumblin' aff a body's
knee like a vera eel,
Ruggin' at the cat's lug, and ravellin' a' her
thrums,-- Hey, Willie Winkie!--See, there he comes!
Wearie is the mither that has a storie wean,
A wee stumpie stoussie
that canna rin his lane,
That has a battle aye wi' sleep before he'll
close an ee; But a kiss frae aff his rosy lips gies strength anew to me.
WILLIAM MILLER.
THE OWL AND THE PUSSY-CAT.
"The Owl and the Pussy-Cat," by Edward Lear (1812-88), is placed
here because I once found that a timid child was much strengthened
and developed by learning it. It is a song that appeals to the imagination
of children, and they like to sing it.
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat;
They took some honey, and plenty of
money

Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the moon
above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love!
What a beautiful Pussy you are,--
You are,
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"
Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!
How wonderful sweet you sing!
Oh, let us be married,--too long we
have tarried,--
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away for a year and a
day
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a
piggy-wig stood
With a ring in the end of his nose,--
His nose,
With a ring in the end of his nose.
"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?" Said the piggy, "I will,"
So they took it away, and were
married next day
By the turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined upon mince and slices
of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon,
And hand in hand on the edge
of the sand
They danced by the light of the moon,--
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

EDWARD LEAR.
WYNKEN, BLYNKEN, AND NOD.
"Wynken, Blynken, and Nod," by Eugene Field (1850-95), pleases
children, who are all by nature sailors and adventurers.
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe,--

Sailed on a river of crystal light
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are
you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the
herring-fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we,"
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the
wooden shoe;
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled
the waves of dew;
The little stars were the herring-fish
That lived in
the beautiful sea.
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish,--
Never afeard are we!"
So cried the stars to the fishermen three,
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling
foam,--
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing
the fishermen home:
'Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed
As if it could not be;
And some folk thought 'twas a dream they'd
dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea;
But I shall name you the

fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,

And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed;

So shut your eyes while Mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,

And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock on the misty sea

Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three,