Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading | Page 4

to come at ten o'clock,?But now you come at noon.

As I was going to St. Ives,?I met a man with seven wives;?Every wife had seven sacks,?Every sack had seven cats,?Every cat had seven kits:?Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,?How many were there going to St. Ives?

As I was going up Pippen Hill,--?Pippen Hill was dirty,--?There I met a pretty miss,?And she dropped me a curtsy.
Little miss, pretty miss,?Blessings light upon you;?If I had half-a-crown a day,?I'd spend it all upon you.

A swarm of bees in May?Is worth a load of hay;?A swarm of bees in June?Is worth a silver spoon;?A swarm of bees in July?Is not worth a fly.
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS.
As blind as a bat.?As broad as it is long.?As cross as two sticks.?As dark as pitch.?As dead as a door nail.?As dead as a herring.?As full as an egg is of meat.?As hot as toast.?As like as two peas.?As merry as a cricket.?As plain as the nose on a man's face.?As quiet as a mouse.?As sharp as a razor.?As straight as an arrow.?As sweet as honey.?As true as steel.?As weak as water.
NONSENSE ALPHABET.
A was an ant?Who seldom stood still,?And who made a nice house?In the side of a hill.?Nice little ant!
B was a bat,?Who slept all the day,?And fluttered about?When the sun went away.?Brown little bat!
C was a camel:?You rode on his hump;?And if you fell off,?You came down such a bump!?What a high camel!
D was a duck?With spots on his back,?Who lived in the water,?And always said "Quack!"?Dear little duck!
E was an elephant,?Stately and wise:?He had tusks and a trunk,?And two queer little eyes.?Oh, what funny small eyes!
F was a fish?Who was caught in a net;?But he got out again,?And is quite alive yet.?Lively young fish!
G was a goat?Who was spotted with brown:?When he did not lie still?He walked up and down.?Good little goat!
H was a hat?Which was all on one side;?Its crown was too high,?And its brim was too wide.?Oh, what a hat!
I was some ice?So white and so nice,?But which nobody tasted;?And so it was wasted.?All that good ice!
J was a jug,?So pretty and white,?With fresh water in it?At morning and night.?Nice little jug!
K was a kite?Which flew out of sight,?Above houses so high,?Quite into the sky.?Fly away, kite!?L was a lily,?So white and so sweet!?To see it and smell it?Was quite a nice treat.?Beautiful lily!
M was a man,?Who walked round and round;?And he wore a long coat?That came down to the ground.?Funny old man!
N was a net?Which was thrown In the sea?To catch fish for dinner?For you and for me.?Nice little net!
O was an orange?So yellow and round:?When it fell off the tree,?It fell down to the ground.?Down to the ground!
P was a polly.?All red, blue, and green,--?The most beautiful polly?That ever was seen.?Poor little polly!?Q was a quail?With a very short tail;?And he fed upon corn?In the evening and morn.?Quaint little quail!
R was a rabbit,?Who had a bad habit?Of eating the flowers?In gardens and bowers.?Naughty fat rabbit!
S was the sugar-tongs,?Nippity-nee,?To take up the sugar?To put in our tea.?Nippity-nee!
T was a tortoise,?All yellow and black:?He walked slowly away,?And he never came back.?Torty never came back!
U was an urn?All polished and bright,?And full of hot water?At noon and at night.?Useful old urn!
V was a veil?With a border upon it,?And a ribbon to tie it?All round a pink bonnet.?Pretty green veil!
W was a watch,?Where, in letters of gold,?The hour of the day?You might always behold.?Beautiful watch!
Y was a yew,?Which flourished and grew?By a quiet abode?Near the side of a road.?Dark little yew!
Z was a zebra,?All striped white and black;?And if he were tame,?You might ride on his back.?Pretty striped zebra!
THE EGG IN THE NEST.
There was a tree stood in the ground,?The prettiest tree you ever did see;?The tree in the wood, and the wood in the ground,?And the green grass growing all around.
And on this tree there was a limb,?The prettiest limb you ever did see;?The limb on the tree, and the tree in the wood,?The tree in the wood, and the wood in the ground,?And the green grass growing all around.
And on this limb there was a bough,?The prettiest bough you ever did see;?The bough on the limb, and the limb on the tree,?The limb on the tree, and the tree in the wood,?The tree in the wood, and the wood in the ground,?And the green grass growing all around.
Now on this bough there was a nest,?And in this nest there were some eggs,?The prettiest eggs you ever did see;?Eggs in the nest, and the nest on the bough,?The bough on the limb, and the limb on the tree,?The limb on the tree, and the tree in the wood,?The tree in the wood, and the wood in the ground,?And the green grass growing all around,?And the green grass growing all around.

Hey! diddle, diddle,?The cat and the