Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading | Page 4

flap, flap!
And now she stops, and
now she drops
Into the rose's lap.
"Come, just a minute come,
From your rose so red."
Hum, hum,
hum, hum--
That was all she said.
"Busy-body, busy-body,
Always light and gay,
It seems to me, for
all I see,
Your work is only play."
And now the day is sinking to
The goldenest of eves,
And she doth
creep for quiet sleep
Among the lily-leaves.
"Come, just a moment come,
From your snowy bed."
Hum, hum,
hum, hum--
That was all she said.
But, the while I mused, I learned
The secret of her way:
Do my part
with cheerful heart,
And turn my work to play.

A cat came fiddling out of a barn,
With a pair of bag-pipes under her
arm;
She could sing nothing but fiddle-de-dee,
The mouse has
married the bumble-bee;
Pipe, cat,--dance, mouse,--
We'll have a
wedding at our good house.

A dillar, a dollar,
A ten o'clock scholar,
What makes you come so
soon?
You used 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