Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading | Page 7

whey;
There came a black spider,
And sat down beside her,
Which frightened Miss Muffet away.

There was a little man,
And he had a little gun,
And his bullets were
made of lead, lead, lead;
He went to the brook.
And he saw a little
duck,
And shot it through the head, head, head.
He carried it home

To his wife Joan,
And bade her a fire to make, make, make,
To
roast the little duck,
He had shot in the brook,
And he'd go and
fetch the drake, drake, drake.

Little Tommy Tucker
Sing for your supper.
What shall I sing?

White bread and butter.
How shall I cut it
Without any knife?
How shall I marry
Without
any wife?

PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS.
At sixes and sevens.
Beauty is but skin deep.
Half a loaf is better
than no bread.
Better late than never.
Better live well than long.

Beware of no man more than thyself.
Birds of a feather will flock
together.
Christmas comes but once a year;
And when it comes, it
brings good cheer;
But when it's gone, it's never the near.
Brag is a
good dog, but Holdfast is a better.
By fits and starts.
By and by is
easily said.
Care will kill a cat.
Cats hide their claws.
Constant
dropping wears the stone.
Count not your chickens before they are
hatched.
Debt is the worst poverty.
Do not spur a free horse.
Don't
cry till you are out of the wood.
Drive thy business; let not that drive
thee.
Early to bed, and early to rise,
Makes a man healthy, wealthy,
and wise.
East or west, home is best.
Enough is as good as a feast.

Everybody's business is nobody's business.
HAPPY THOUGHT.
The world is so full of a number of things,
I'm sure we should all be
as happy as kings.
THE SUN'S TRAVELS.
The sun is not abed, when I
At night upon my pillow lie;
Still round
the earth his way he takes,
And morning after morning makes.
While here at home, in shining day,
We round the sunny garden play,

Each little Indian sleepy-head
Is being kissed and put to bed.
And when at eve I rise from tea,
Day dawns beyond the Atlantic Sea;

And all the children in the West
Are getting up and being dressed.

MY BED IS A BOAT.
My bed is like a little boat;
Nurse helps me in when I embark;
She
girds me in my sailor's coat
And starts me in the dark.

At night, I go on board and say
Good-night to all my friends on shore;

I shut my eyes and sail away
And see and hear no more.
And sometimes things to bed I take,
As prudent sailors have to do;

Perhaps a slice of wedding-cake,
Perhaps a toy or two.
All night across the dark we steer;
But when the day returns at last,

Safe in my room, beside the pier,
I find my vessel fast.
THE SWING.
How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do
think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and
over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and
all
Over the countryside--
Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown--

Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Guard the bed that I lie on!
Four
corners to my bed,
Four angels round my head;
One to watch, one
to pray,
And two to bear my soul away.

Mistress Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With
cockle-shells, and silver bells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

Old King Cole
Was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he;

He called for his pipe,
And he called for his bowl,
And he called
for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler, he had a fiddle,
And a very fine
fiddle had he;
Twee tweedle dee, tweedle dee, went the fiddlers.
Oh,
there's none so rare,
As can compare
With old King Cole and his

fiddlers three!
MOTHER HUBBARD AND HER DOG
Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To get her poor dog a
bone;
But when she came there,
The cupboard was bare,
And so
the poor dog had none.
She went to the baker's
To buy him some bread;
But when she
came back,
The poor dog was dead.
She went to the joiner's
To buy him a coffin;
But when she came
back.
The poor dog was laughing.
She took a clean dish
To get him some tripe;
But when she came
back,
He was smoking his pipe.
She went to the fishmonger's
To buy him some fish;
And when she
came back,
He was licking the dish.
She went to the ale-house
To get him some beer;
But when she
came back,
The dog sat in a chair.
She went to the tavern
For white wine and red;
But when she came
back,
The dog stood on his head.
She went to the hatter's
To buy him a hat;
But when she came back,

He was feeding the cat.
She went to the barber's
To buy him a wig;
But when she came
back,
He was dancing a jig.
She went to the fruiterer's
To buy him some fruit;
But when she
came back,
He was