Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading | Page 5

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 fiddle,
The cow jumped over
the moon;
The little dog laughed
To see such sport,
And the dish
ran away with the spoon.

Pussy sits beside the fire,
How can she be fair?
In comes the little
dog,
"Pussy, are you there?
So, so, dear Mistress Pussy,
Pray tell
me how do you do?"
"Thank you, thank you, little dog,
I'm very
well just now."

Ding dong bell,
The cat's in the well!
Who put her in?--
Little
Johnny Green.
Who pulled her out?--
Big Johnny Stout.
What a

naughty boy was that
To drown poor pussy cat,
Who never did him
any harm,
But killed the mice in his father's barn!
DAISIES.
At evening when I go to bed
I see the stars shine overhead;
They
are the little daisies white
That dot the meadow of the Night.
And often while I'm dreaming so,
Across the sky the Moon will go;

It is a lady, sweet and fair,
Who comes to gather daisies there.
For, when at morning I arise,
There's not a star left in the skies;

She's picked them all and dropped them down
Into the meadows of
the town.
SPINNING TOP.
When I spin round without a stop
And keep my balance like the top,

I find that soon the floor will swim
Before my eyes; and then, like
him,
I lie all dizzy on the floor
Until I feel like spinning more.
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS.
Every dog has its day.
Every horse thinks his own pack heaviest.

Every little helps.
Every man for himself, and God for us all.
Faint
heart never won fair lady.
Fair words butter no parsnips.
Fine
feathers make fine birds.
Follow the river and you will get to the sea.

Fools build houses, and wise men live in them.
For every evil
under the sun, there is a remedy, or there is none; If there be one, try
and find It; if there be none, never mind it. For want of a nail the shoe
is lost; for want of a shoe the horse is lost; for want of a horse the rider
is lost.

Bobby Shafto's gone to sea,
With silver buckles at his knee;
He'll

come back and marry me,--
Pretty Bobby Shafto!
Bobby Shafto's fat and fair,
Combing out his yellow hair,
He's my
love for evermore,--
Pretty Bobby Shafto!

Every lady in this land
Has twenty nails upon each hand
Five and
twenty on hands and feet.
All this is true without deceit.

Great A, little a,
Bouncing B!
The cat's in the cupboard,
And she
can't see.

Hark, hark,
The dogs do bark,
The beggars are coming to town;

Some in rags,
Some in jags,
And some in velvet gowns.

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye;
Four and twenty
blackbirds
Baked in a pie;
When the pie was opened,
The birds
began to sing;
Was not that a dainty dish
To set before the king?
The king was in the parlor,
Counting out his money;
The queen was
in the kitchen,
Eating bread and honey;
The maid was in the garden,
Hanging out the clothes;
There came a
little blackbird,
And snipped off her nose.
Jenny was so mad,
She didn't know what to do;
She put her finger
in her ear,
And cracked it right in two.

Hickory, dickory, dock,
The mouse ran up the clock,
The clock
struck one,
The mouse ran down;
Hickory, dickory, dock.

Hot-cross buns!
Hot-cross buns!
One a penny, two a penny.

Hot-cross buns!
Hot-cross buns!
Hot-cross buns!
If ye have no
daughters,
Give them to your sons.

How does my lady's garden grow?
How does my lady's garden grow?

With cockle shells, and silver bells,
And pretty maids all of a row.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

Threescore men and threescore more
Cannot place Humpty Dumpty
as he was before.

Hush-a-bye, baby, on the tree-top,
When the wind blows, the cradle
will rock,
When the bough bends, the cradle will fall,
Down will
come baby, bough, cradle, and all.

Some little mice sat in a barn to spin;
Pussy came by, and popped her
head in;
"Shall I come in, and cut