The Norsk Nightingale | Page 6

any place.
Barefoot boy, ef ay could du
Yenuine po'try lak the kind
Maester
Vittier wrote for yu,
Ay vould write; but never mind,
Ay can tal yu
vat ay know,
Even ef dese vords ant flow
Half so slick sum poet's
song.
Anyhow, ay don't mean wrong.
Ven ay see yu, little kid,
Ay
skol taking off my lid.
Oder little boys ay see
Ant look half so gude
to me.
Some of dem ban rich men's boys,
Who ban having planty toys,

Vearing nicest clo'es in town,
Lak dis little Buster Brown.
Don't yu
care! Ven dey grow up,
And ban shining at pink tea,
Drenking tea
from china cup,
Yu skol give dem loud tee-hee.
Yu skol laugh at
dis har mob
Ven dey come to yu for yob.
Barefoot boy, yu ant got
cent;
But ay tal yu dis, some day

Yu got chance for president
Ef
dese woters com yure vay.
Yust keep vistling all day long,
Yust
keep senging little song,
And ef yu skol alvays love
Some one who
ban op above,
Who ban making day and night,
He skol fix yu out
all right.

FATHER WILLIAM
"Yu ban old, Fader Olaf," a young geezer
say, "yure hair it ban whiter
sum snow;
Ay lak yu to tal me how yu keep so young.
By Yudas!
Ay ant hardly know."
"Ven ay ban a young kid," Fader Olaf he
say, "ay never hang out in
saloon;
Ay never ban smoking dese har cigarettes, or
sitting on sofa
and spoon!"
"Yu ban slim, Fader Olaf," the young faller
say: "old fallers ban
mostly dam fat.
Yu measure 'bout tventy-sax inches reund
vaist, vat
for ban the reason of dat?"
"In the days of my youth," Fader Olaf
reply, "ay ant drenk no lager
from cup;
Ay let all my frends fight dis bourbon and
rye, and alvays
pass breakfast fude up!"
"Fader Olaf, yure eyes ban so bright sum a
star, yu ant vear no
glasses at all;
Ay lak yu to tal me gude reason for dis;
ay hope yu
don't give me no stall."
"All the days of my life," Fader Olaf den
say, "ay never ban going to
shows,
And straining my eyes vatching dese chorus
girls vich ant
veering wery much clo'es!"
Den young faller say, "Fader Olaf, ay tenk
yu ban full of yinger, old
pal;
But yu had to be missing gude times all yure
life, so ay skol
keep on raising hal!"
ABOU SWEN ANSON
Abou Swen Anson (he ban yolly dog)
Ban asleep von night so sound
lak log,
Ven all at vonce he tenk it sure ban day.
"Ay skol vake op
now," Maester Anson say.
But, ven he vake, it ant ban day at all,

He see a gude big light right close to vall,
And dar ban anyel faller

vith stub pen.
"Gude morning, maester anyel man," say Swen.
"Ay
s'pose," he tal the anyel, "yu ban har
To pay me wisit. Skol yu have
cigar?"
The anyel shake his head, and Abou Swen
Ask him: "Val,
Maester, vy yu com har den?
Vat skol yu write in dis har book of
gold?"
The anyel say, "All fallers, young and old,
Who go to church
and prayer-meeting, tu;
But ay ant got a place in har for yu."
"Ay
s'pose," say Abou, "yu got noder book
For common lumberyacks vich
never took
Flyer at church or dis har Sunday-school,
But yust try
hard to keeping Golden Rule.
Ef yu got dis book, Maester, put me
in!"
Den anyel look at Abou, and he grin.
"Abou," he say, "shak
hands. Yu talk qvite free
But, yiminy Christmas, yu look gude to
me!"
MAUD MULLER
Maude Muller, on nice summer day,
Raked in meadows sveet vith
hay.
Her eyes ban sharp lak gude sharp knife;
She ban nice girl, ay bet
yure life.
Before she ban dar wery long,
She start to senging little song.
The Yudge come riding down big hill
In nice red yumping
ottomobill.
Maude say, "Hello, Yudge,--how ban yu?"
The Yudge say, "Maudie,
how y' du?"
He say: "Skol yu tak little ride?
Ef yu skol lak to, yump
inside."
So Maude and Yudge ride 'bout sax miles,
And Yudge skol bask in
Maude's sveet smiles.
The Yudge say, "Skol yu be my pal?"
Den ottomobill bust all to hal.
Den Maude ban valking 'bout half vay
Back to meadows sveet vith

hay.
"Ay luv yu still, dear," say the Yudge,
But Maude she only say, "O
fudge!"
Of all sad vords dat men skol talk,
The saddest ban, "Valk, yu sucker,
valk!"
LUCY GRAY
Ay s'pose yu know 'bout Lucy Gray
Who used to play on moor,

And having qvite gude time all day
Beside her fader's door.
Dis Maester Vordsvorth write it down,
Gude many years ago,
How
Lucy start to valk to town
In gude big drifts of snow.
"Lucy," her fader say, "yust tak
Dis lantern from the shelf."
Say
Lucy, "Ay have kick to mak;
Vy don't yu go yureself?"
But Lucy's dad ant stand no talk,
And say, "Yu have to go!"
So
Lucy Gray tak little valk
To town in dis har snow.
Miss Lucy ant come back dat night,
And ant come back next day;

And den her parents get gude fright.
"Our kid ban lost!" dey say.
Dey look for tracks vich Lucy mak,
And find some