The Norsk Nightingale | Page 7

tracks dat go
Up
to a bridge on little lake,
And den ban lost in snow.
And so dey tenk Miss Gray ban lost,
And feeling purty bum.
The
funeral saxty dollars cost,
And all the neighbors com.
But Lucy ant ban lost at all.
She met a travelling man.
He ban a bird.
His name ban Hall,
And off for town dey ran.
And Maester Hall and Lucy Gray
Ban married in St. Yo,
And dey
ban keeping house to-day
In Kansas City, Mo.

STEALING A RIDE
Yumping over crossings,
Bumping over svitches,
Till ay tenk dis
enyine
Going to fall in ditches;
Hiding vith some cattle,
Ay tenk
'bout saxty-eight;
Yiminy! Dis ban yolly,--
Stealing ride on freight
Ay ban yust tru treshing
Op in Nort Dakota;
Now ay guess ay'm
going
Back to old Mansota.
Now dis train ban stopping,
'Bout sax
hours to vait;
Yiminy! Dis ban yolly,--
Stealing ride on freight.
Ay skol stretch a little
Yust to tak a sleep;
Den my head bump into

Gude big fader sheep.
Yee! His head ban harder
Sum a china
plate;
Dis ban yolly doings,--
Stealing ride on freight.
Yumping over crossings,
Bumping over svitches,
Till my side ban
getting
Saxty-seven stitches.
Ay hear brakeman faller
Say, "Yust
ten hours late!"
It ban hal, ay tal yu,
Stealing ride on freight.
"CURFEW SHALL NOT RING TO-NIGHT"
England's sun ban slowly setting on big hilltops far avay;
Dis bar sun
ban tired of standing, so it lak to set, yu say; And yust ven dis sun ban
setting, it shine hard on Yosephine; She ban talking to the sexton, and
ban feeling purty mean.
"Now," she tal him, "yust be careful,... ay
skol fix it op all right; Yust one teng ay lak to tal yu, Curfew skol not
reng to-night!"
Val, the sun yust keep on setting, and the sexton start for bell. "Vait a
minute!" Yosie tal him; sexton answer, "Vat to 'ell?" "Val," she say,
"ay having sveetheart who ban over har in yail, Ay ban vorking hard
for money, nuff so ay can pay his bail; But it ant no use to du it, and dis
har old yudge skol write That he dies ven bell start going. Curfew skol
not reng to-night!"
Den, yu say, dis maester sexton, he can't hearing Yosephine; He ban
vork in boiler factory ven he ban about saxteen,
And it mak him deaf

lak blazes. So he go and grabbing rope; But Miss Yosephine ant qvitter,
she ant losing any hope.
No, sir! she run op in bell tower, yust so fast
sum she can run, And she tak gude hold on bell tongue, and hang on
lak son of a gun.
Maester sexton, he keep renging, but dis bell ant reng, yu say; For Miss
Yosephine ban op dar; she ant ban no country yay.
Ay yust bet yu she
get groggy, for her yob ban purty tough; But the bell don't "dingle
dangle," it ant even making bluff. "Val, by yinger!" say the sexton, "dis
har rope ban awful tight." Yosephine look down, and tal him, "Curfew
skol not reng to-night!"
Purty soon it ban all over. Sexton, he ban start for town,
And Miss
Yosie rest a minute, den ay s'pose she coming down. Anyhow, she go
next morning for gude talk vith some poleece, And she yolly Maester
Cromwell--he ban Yustice of the Peace. "Gude for yu," say Maester
Cromwell, "ay skol let him live, all right: Yust because yu fule dis
sexton--curfew skol not reng to-night!"
A PSALM OF LIFE
Tal me not, yu knocking fallers,
Life ban only empty dream;
Dar
ban planty fun, ay tal yu,
Ef yu try Yohn Yohnson's scheme.
Yohn
ban yust a section foreman,
Vorking hard vay up on Soo;
He ban
yust so glad in morning
As ven all his vork ban tru.
"Vork," say Yohn, "ban vat yu mak it.
Ef yu tenk yure vork ban hard,

Yu skol having planty headaches,--
Yes, yu bet yure life, old pard;

But ay alvays yerk my coat off,
Grab my shovel and my pick,

And dis yob ant seem lak hard von
Ef ay du it purty qvick."
Yohn ban foreman over fallers.
He ant have to vork, yu see;
But, yu
bet, he ant no loafer,
And he yust digs in, by yee!
"Listen, Olaf," he
skol tal me,
"Making living ant no trick.
And the hardest yob ban
easy
Ef yu only du it qvick!"

"Let us den be op and yumping,
Always glad to plow tru drift;
Ven
our vork ban done, den let us
Give some oder faller lift.
Den, ay bet
yu, old Saint Peter,
He skol tenk ve're purty slick;
Ve can go tru
gates, ay bet yu,
Ef ve only du it qvick!"
ANNIE LAURIE
Minneapolis ban qvite bonny
Ven early fall the dew;
It ban dar dat
ay ask Steena
To mak her promise true,--
To mak her promise true;

But she yust pass me by;
And she tal me, "Maester Olaf,
Yu skol
pleese lay down and die."
Her brow ban yust lak snowdrift
Or Apple Blossom flour;
And she
smile lak anyel fallers,
Ay tenk of her each hour,--
Ay tenk of her
each hour,
And feel lak ay can cry,
Ven she tal me, "Maester