The Project Gutenberg eBook of Child Songs of Cheer

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Title: Child Songs of Cheer

Author: Evaleen Stein

Illustrator: Antoinette Inglis

Release date: September 27, 2006 [eBook #19389]

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Sankar Viswanathan, and the

Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILD SONGS OF CHEER ***

DANDELIONS

Dandelions, dandelions, shining through the dew,

Let the Kings have Cloth of Gold, but let us have you!

CHILD SONGS OF CHEER

BY

EVALEEN STEIN

ILLUSTRATIONS BY

ANTOINETTE INGLIS

BOSTON

LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.

Published, August, 1918

COPYRIGHT, 1918,

BY LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.

Dear Children, all the little words

These printed pages through,

They are a flock of little birds

I bring to sing to you.

Sometimes they sing of foolish things,

And other times they try

To tell their gladness when their wings

Soar up to seek the sky.

So, Sweethearts, do but kindly hark!

If but a sparrow throng,

Or if among them there's a lark,

To you their songs belong!

Contents

PAGE

Up, Little Ones!

11

Dandelions

13

Our Puppies

15

The Lost Balloon

16

The Circus Procession

17

May-Baskets

22

The Picture-Book Giant

23

Did You Ever?

25

Decoration Day

26

Chu-Chu Cars

28

Fairy Rings

30

The Firefly

32

A Rain Song

33

Fairies

36

The Little Fir-Trees

37

The Wren-House

41

The Baby's Ride

42

An Indian Raid

48

The First Sleigh-Ride

50

Sleepy Time

51

When Bettie and Anne Went Walking

52

The Bluebird

54

The Organ-Grinder

55

The New Moon

57

Showery Time

58

Easter Day

60

The Sandman

61

Dandelion Curls

62

Pop-Corn

63

The Rash Little Sparrow

64

What If?

65

Easter Eggs

66

The Birds' Bath

68

November Morning

69

The Runaway

71

Lost!

73

The Queen's Page

74

Our Tree-Toad

75

In the Water-World

77

Who Was It?

79

Visiting Day

80

A Valentine to Catherine

81

Fireflies

82

The Rainy Day

83

The First Red-Bird

84

The Weather-Vane

86

The Swan

87

Baby's Baking

89

A Sure Sign

90

Another Sure Sign

91

The Robin's Bath

93

The Frosted Pane

94

The First Snow

96

Grandfather Knows

97

Sleigh-Bells

98

The Red-Bird

99

Wild Beasts

100

Wherefore Wings?

101

Basking

102

With a May-Basket for Baby Agnes

103

The Little Nest

105

Christmas Candles

107

A Song of the Christmas-Tree

108

Our Kittens

112

In July

113

A Valentine to a Little Child

114

Zip!

116

A Little Carol

117

Song

118

The Three Candles

119

Illustrations

DANDELIONS

Dandelions, dandelions, shining through the dew,

Let the kings have Cloth of Gold, but let us have you!

(Page 14)

Frontispiece

FACING PAGE

FAIRY RINGS

See them dancing, dancing,

While the silver moon

Tips their swiftly glancing

Little silver shoon!

30

THE BIRDS' BATH

When the sun shines warm and high

Robins cluster round its brink

68

CHRISTMAS CANDLES

We can tell Him of our love

If we set a light for Him

108

Child Songs of Cheer

UP, LITTLE ONES!

A robin redbreast, fluting there

Upon the apple-bough,

Is telling all the world how fair

Are apple-blossoms now;

The honey-dew its sweetness spills

From cuckoo-cups, and all

The crocuses and daffodils

Are drest for festival!

Such pretty things are to be seen,

Such pleasant things to do,

The April earth it is so green,

The April sky so blue,

The path from dawn to even-song

So joyous is to-day,

Up, little ones! and dance along

The lilac-scented way!

DANDELIONS

Hey-a-day-a-day, my dear! Dandelion time!

Come, and let us make for them a pretty little rhyme!

See the meadows twinkling now, beautiful and bright

As the sky when through the blue shine the stars at night!

Once upon a time, folks say, mighty kings of old

Met upon a splendid field called "The Cloth of Gold."

But, we wonder, could it be there was ever seen

Brighter gold than glitters now in our meadows green?

Dandelions, dandelions, shining through the dew,

Let the kings have Cloth of Gold, but let us have you!

OUR PUPPIES

Little ears as soft as silk,

Little teeth as white as milk,

Little noses cool and pink,

Little eyes that blink and blink,

Little bodies round and fat,

Little hearts that pit-a-pat,

Surely prettier puppies never

Were before nor can be ever!

THE LOST BALLOON

O dear! my purple toy balloon

Has flown away! and very soon

It will be high up as the moon!

And don't you think the man up there

Will wonder what it is, and stare?

Perhaps hell say, "Well, I declare!"

Or, maybe if it chance there are

Some little boys in yonder star,

And if it floats away so far,

Perhaps they'll jump up very high

And catch the cord as it goes by!

At any rate I hope they'll try!

THE CIRCUS PROCESSION

Oh, hurry! hurry! here they come,

The band in front with the big bass drum

And blaring bugles,—there they are,

On golden thrones in a golden car,

Tooting and fluting, oh, how grand!

Hi diddle, diddle!

The fife and the fiddle!

Hurrah, hurrah for the circus band!

And the red-plumed horses, oh, see them prance

And daintily lift their hoofs and dance,

While beautiful ladies with golden curls

Are jingling their bridles of gold and pearls,

And close behind

Come every kind

Of animal cages great and small,

O how I wonder what's in them all!

Here's one that's open and glaring there

Is the shaggiest snow-white polar bear!

Woof! but I wonder what we'd do

If his bars broke loose right now, don't you?

And O dear me!

Just look and see

That pink-cheeked lady in skirts of gauze

And the great big lion with folded paws!

O me! O my!

I'm glad that I

Am not in that lion's cage, because

Suppose he'd open his horrible jaws!

—But look! the clown is coming! Of course

Facing the tail of a spotted horse

And shouting out things to make folks laugh,

And grinning up at the tall giraffe

That placidly paces along and looks

Just like giraffes in the picture-books!

And there are the elephants, two and two,

Lumbering on as they always do!

The men who lead them look so small

I wonder the elephants mind at all

As they wag their queer

Long trunks, and peer

Through their beady eyes,—folks say they know

No end of things, and I'm sure it's so!

And you never must do a thing that's bad

Or that possibly might make an elephant mad,

For he'll never forgive you, it appears,

And will punish you sure, if it takes him years!

So do not stare

But take good care

To mind your manners, and always try

To smile politely as they go by!

But the camels don't care if you laugh at them

With their bumpy humps like a capital M,

They lurch and sway

And seem to say,

As they wrinkle their noses, long and gray,

"This swaggering stride is quite the plan,

It's the way we walked in the caravan!"

And now more cages come rumbling by

With glittering people throned on high;

So many spangles and precious things,

They surely must all be queens and kings!

They look so proud

Above the crowd,

O my, how fine it must feel to ride

On golden wagons that hide inside

Strange animals caught in cannibal isles

And brought in ships for a million miles!

But hark! it's near

The end, for hear

That sudden screeching in piercing key!

The steaming, screaming cal-li-o-pe!

Just plain pianos sound terribly tame

Beside this one with the wonderful name,

And wouldn't you love some day to sit

In a circus wagon and play on it?

MAY-BASKETS

Let us take our baskets early

To the meadows green,

While the wild-flowers still are pearly

With the dewdrops' sheen.

Fill them full of blossoms rosy,

Violets and gay

Cowslips, every pretty posy

Welcoming the May.

Then our lovely loads we'll carry

Down the village street,

On each door, with laughter merry,

Hang a basket sweet.

Hey-a-day-day! It is spring now,

Lazy folks, awake!

See the pretty things we bring now

For the May-day's sake!

THE PICTURE-BOOK GIANT

Once there was a fierce, defiant,

Greedy, grumpy, grizzly giant

In the pages of a picture-book, and he

Sometimes screamed, in sudden rages,

"I must jump out from these pages,

For this life's a much too humdrum one for me!

Fiddle-dee!

Yes, this life's a quite too quiet one for me!"

So one rainy day he did it,

Took the picture-book and hid it,

Stamped his foot, and shouting loudly,

"Now I'm free!"

Boldly started out, forgetting

That he could not stand a wetting!

He was just a paper giant, don't you see?

Dearie me!

Just a gaudy, picture giant, don't you see?

DID YOU EVER?

Did you ever see a fairy in a rose-leaf coat and cap

Swinging in a cobweb hammock as he napped his noonday nap?

Did you ever see one waken very thirsty and drink up

All the honey-dew that glimmered in a golden buttercup?

Did you ever see one fly away on rainbow-twinkling wings?

If you did not, why, how comes it that you never see such things?

DECORATION DAY

See the soldiers, little ones!

Hark the drummers' beat!

See them with their flags and guns

Marching down the street!

Tattered flags from out the wars,

Let us follow these

To the little stripes and stars

Twinkling through the trees.

Watch them waving through the grass

Where the heroes sleep!

Thither gently let us pass

On this day we keep.

Let us bring our blossoms, too,

All our gardens grow;

Lilacs honey-sweet with dew,

And the lilies' snow.

Every posy of the May,

Every bloomy stem,

Every bud that breaks to-day

Gather now for them.

Lay the lilies o'er them thus,

Lovingly, for so

Down they laid their lives for us,

Long and long ago.

Heap above them bud and bough;

Softly, ere we cease,

God, we pray Thee, gently now

Fold them in Thy peace!

CHU-CHU CARS

Turn the chairs down in a row

Each behind the other, so;

Chu-chu! Chu-chu! there they are,

Passenger and baggage-car,

Chu-chu-chu! the Morris chair

Is the engine puffing there,

Chu-chu! Chu-chu! Ting-a-ling!

Don't you hear its big bell ring?

All aboard! Jump on! if you

Want to take this train. Chu-chu!!

Off we start now, rushing fast

Through the fields and valleys, past

Noisy cities, over bridges,

Hills and plains and mountain ridges,

Chu-chu! Chu-chu! Chu-chu-chu!!

At such speed it must be true

Since we started we have come

Most a million miles from home!

Jump off, some one! Quick! and go

To the pantry, for, you know,

We must have the cookie-jar

For our Pullman dining-car!

FAIRY RINGS

Softly in the gloaming

Flitting through the vale,

Fairy folk are roaming

Over hill and dale.

Pixies in the hollow,

Elves upon the height,

Let us follow, follow

Through the paling light.

Follow, all unbidden,

To the grassy glade

Wrapped around and hidden

In the forest shade.

Hark the elfin tinkle

Of their little lutes!

Mark the golden twinkle

Of their fairy flutes!

FAIRY RINGS

See them dancing, dancing,

While the silver moon

Tips their swiftly glancing

Little silver shoon!

Tripping, tripping lightly,

Where their footprints fall,

Look! the grass is brightly

Growing green and tall!

Springing close, unbroken,

In a fairy ring,

For to-morrow's token

Of their frolicking!

THE FIREFLY

Flash and flicker and fly away,

Trailing light as you flutter far,

Are you a lamp for the fairies, say?

Or a flake of fire from a falling star?

A RAIN SONG

Tinkle, tinkle,

Lightly fall

On the peach buds, pink and small;

Tip the tiny grass, and twinkle

On the clover, green and tall.

Tinkle, tinkle,—

Faster now,

Little rain-drops, smite and sprinkle

Cherry-bloom and apple-bough!

Pelt the elms, and show them how

You can dash!

And splash! splash! splash!

While the thunder rolls and mutters,

And the lightnings flash and flash!

Then eddy into curls

Of a million misty swirls,

And thread the air with silver, and embroider it with pearls!

And patter, patter, patter

To a quicker time, and clatter

On the streaming window-pane;

Rain, rain,

On the leaves,

And the eaves,

And the turning weather-vane!

Rush in torrents from the tip

Of the gable-peak, and drip

In the garden-bed, and fill

All the cuckoo-cups, and pour

More and more

In the tulip-bowls, and still

Overspill

In a crystal tide until

Every yellow daffodil

Is flooded to its golden rim, and brimming o'er and o'er!

Then as gently as the low

Muffled whir of robin wings,

Or a sweep of silver strings,

Even so,

Take your airy April flight

Through the merry April light,

And melt into a mist of rainy music as you go!

FAIRIES

Grandfather says that sometimes,

When stars are twinkling and

A new moon shines, there come times

When folks see fairy-land!

So when there's next a new moon,

I mean to watch all night!

Grandfather says a blue moon

Is best for fairy light,

And in a peach-bloom, maybe,

If I look I shall see

A little fairy baby

No bigger than a bee!

THE LITTLE FIR-TREES

Hey! little evergreens,

Sturdy and strong!

Summer and autumn time

Hasten along;

Harvest the sunbeams, then,

Bind them in sheaves,

Range them, and change them

To tufts of green leaves.

Delve in the mellow mold,

Far, far below,

And so,

Little evergreens, grow!

Grow, grow!

Grow, little evergreens, grow!

Up, up so airily

To the blue sky,

Lift up your leafy tips

Stately and high;

Clasp tight your tiny cones,

Tawny and brown;

By and by, buffeting

Rains will pelt down;

By and by, bitterly

Chill winds will blow;

And so,

Little evergreens, grow!

Grow, grow!

Grow, little evergreens, grow!

Gather all uttermost

Beauty, because,—

Hark, till I tell it now!

How Santa Claus,

Out of the northern land,

Over the seas,

Soon shall come seeking you,

Evergreen trees!

Seek you with reindeer soon,

Over the snow;

And so,

Little evergreens, grow!

Grow, grow!

Grow, little evergreens, grow!

What if the maples flare

Flaunting and red,

You shall wear waxen white

Tapers instead!

What if now, otherwhere,

Birds are beguiled,

You shall yet nestle

The little Christ-child!

Ah! the strange splendor

The fir-trees shall know!

And so,

Little evergreens, grow!

Grow, grow!

Grow, little evergreens, grow!

THE WREN-HOUSE

Yesterday I took my saw

And some bits of wood,

And I made a little house

Nicely as I could.

I put on a mossy-green

Little pointed roof,

And I cut a tiny door

That is pussy-proof.

For I hope some little wrens

To our yard will come

And will choose my little house

For their little home.

I shall hang it in the boughs

Of the apple-tree,

And I'm sure as rent for it

They will sing to me!

THE BABY'S RIDE

Chee! Chee! Chickadee!

Sing-time and sun!

Aye, aye, baby-bye,

Springtime has begun!

In the little willow cart,

On a downy bed,

Pretty parasol of silk

Swinging overhead,

Let us go along the lane

Where a baby sees

Mighty tufts of grass, and weeds

Tall as forest trees!

Bluebird on the apple-bough,

Sing and sing and sing!

Sing your very sweetest now

For babyhood and spring!

"Bah! Bah!" from the pasture,

And "Caw! Caw!" from the crow,

And bleating from the little calf

That has not learned to low.

Apple-buds, apple-buds breaking apart,

The baby looks upward with love-laden gaze;

Oh, shower some petals down here in his cart,

One honey-sweet cluster of pretty pink sprays!

Apple-buds, apple-buds, scornful and too

Vain of your loveliness, stay where you are!

The cheeks of the baby are pinker than you,

And finer and softer and sweeter by far!

See the pretty little lambs,

How they frisk and play!

See their silky fleeces shine

White as buds in May!

White as are the fleecy clouds

Softly blowing by—

What if they were little lambs

Playing in the sky?

Robin on the peach-bough,

Swinging overhead,

Sing a little song and say

Why is your breast so red?

Why is your voice so sweet, and

Your song so merry, say?

And wherefore do you spread your wings

And quickly fly away?

Ho, ho! see the queer little prints there

That cover the road, baby, look!

At the web-footed tangle that hints where

The ducks have gone down to the brook!

The Muscovy mammas that waddled

Zigzag, you can trace in their tracks,

And the dear little ducklings that toddled

And tumbled sometimes on their backs!

Buttercup, buttercup, buttercup gold,

O give us a handful of riches to hold!

Ho, ho! laughs the baby, and grasps in his glee

His wealth, but soon shows what a spend-thrift is he!

—Nay, nay, he is king, though he never was crowned,

And royally scatters his gold on the ground!

Bough of the willow-tree

Over the brook,

Down darts a kingfisher,

Look, baby, look!

Back on the willow-bough,

Fishing is done;

Happy and nappy now

There in the sun.

Happy and nappy the baby is, too,

Softly his eyelids droop over the blue,

Golden his curls on the white pillow lie,

Sleep, baby, sleep, baby, hush-a-by-bye.

AN INDIAN RAID

Did you see some Indians passing,

Just a short while back?

Looks as if they must be massing

For a fierce attack!

Buckskin fringes, turkey-feather

Huge head-dresses and

Bows and arrows, altogether

Quite a frightful band!

From the lilac-bushes springing,

See them rushing! Ugh!

Awful war-whoops wildly ringing!

There'll be scalping, too!

In their fearful frenzy leaping,

It is very plain

Soon around us they'll be heaping

Mountains of the slain!

Soon their victims will be falling—

But, above the noise,

Hark! I hear somebody calling,

"Come to dinner, boys!"

THE FIRST SLEIGH-RIDE

O happy time of fleecy rime

And falling flakes, and O

The glad surprise in baby eyes

That never saw the snow!

Down shining ways the flying sleighs

Go jingling by, and see!

Beside the gate the horses wait

And neigh for you and me!

SLEEPY TIME

Hey, baby! Ho, baby! here upon my knee,

See the firelight flicker over you and me!

See the tiny people basking in the glow,

Peering through the ruddy little coals, and so

How they dance and scamper! Merry fairy folk!

Little sparks for spangles, little wings of smoke!

Come baby, come baby, nestle in my arms;

Hear the purring flames now sing their sleepy charms.

All the firelight fairies, all the drowsy elves,

In the downy ashes cover up themselves.

And I fold the little blanket over you;

Bye baby, my baby, let us slumber too.

WHEN BETTIE AND ANNE WENT WALKING

When they took their dollies walking,

They were both so busy talking,

(They had not met for half an hour and so had much to say)

That they heedlessly kept going

Down the shady streets, not knowing,

Till they wanted to come back again, they could not find the way!

In their fright they felt forlorner

Every time they turned a corner,

And they wailed to one another, "Oh, whatever shall we do?

A big bear might come to bite us,

Or a dreadful dog to fight us,

Or the wicked gipsies get us! Oh, boo-hoo! Boo-hoo! Boo-hoo!"

But this story, though a sad one,

Has an end that's not a bad one,

For at last somebody found them as they bade the world good-by;

They took their dollies home again,

And vowed they'd never roam again,

And their mothers hugged and kissed them, saying, "There, my dears, don't cry!"

THE BLUEBIRD

To-day at dawn there twinkled through

The pearly mist a flash of blue

So dazzling bright I thought the sky

Shone through the rifted clouds on high,

Till, by and by,

A note so honey-sweet I heard,

I knew that bright flash was a bird!

THE ORGAN-GRINDER

Hark! I hear the organ-grinder

Coming down the street,

And the sudden clatter-patter

Of the children's feet!

Come, oh, let us run to meet him!

Did you ever hear

Tunes so gay as he is playing,

Or so sweet and clear?

See the brown-faced little monkey,

Impudent and bold,

With his little scarlet jacket

Braided all in gold!

And his tiny cap and tassel

Bobbing to and fro,

Look, oh, look! he plucks it off now,

Bowing very low.

And he's passing it politely—

Can it be for pay?

O dear me! I have no penny!

Let us run away!

THE NEW MOON

Pretty new moon, little new moon,

Now, as first I look at you,

I must make a wish, for wise folks

Say it surely will come true!

Little new moon, pretty new moon,

I wish—but I must not tell!

For if any one should hear it,

Wise folks say it breaks the spell!

SHOWERY TIME

The April rain-drops tinkle

In cuckoo-cups of gold,

And warm south winds unwrinkle

The buds the peach-boughs hold.

In countless fluted creases

The little elm-leaves show,

While white as carded fleeces

The dogwood blossoms blow.

A rosy robe is wrapping

The early red-bud trees;

But still the haws are napping,

Nor heed the honey-bees.

And still in lazy sleeping

The apple-buds are bound,

But tulip-tips are peeping

From out the garden ground.

And yonder, gayly swinging

Upon the turning vane,

A robin redbreast singing

Makes merry at the rain!

EASTER DAY

Christ the Lord is risen to-day!

Angels rolled the stone away

From the tomb wherein He lay!

Little children, come and sing,

"Glory, glory to the King,

Christ the Lord of everything!"

THE SANDMAN

The Sandman! hark, I hear him!

He's coming up the stair,

And everybody near him

Is nodding, I declare!

He's peeping in the door now,

And first of all he spies,

As he has done before now,

The little children's eyes!

Then quickly does he throw it,

His golden sleepy-sand,

And all, before they know it,

Are off for sleepy-land!

DANDELION CURLS

Ah, ha, ha, now! who comes here

Wreathed in flowers of gold and queer

Tiny tangled curls of green

Gayly bobbing in between?

Pretty token of the spring!

Hark! we hear the bluebirds sing

When we thus see little girls

Decked in dandelion curls.

POP-CORN

Pop! Pop!—Poppetty-pop!

Shake and rattle and rattle and shake

The golden grains as they bounce and break

To fluffy puffiness—Poppetty-pop!

Bursting and banging the popper's top!

Poppetty-pop!

Pop! Pop!

The yellow kernels, oh, see them grow

White as cotton or flakes of snow!

Pop! Pop!

O-ho, how they frolic and fly about

And turn themselves suddenly inside out!

Pop-pop-poppetty! Pop-pop-pop!

The popper's full and we'll have to stop;

Pile the bowl with the tempting treat,

Children, come, it is time to eat!

THE RASH LITTLE SPARROW

Rash little sparrow

Up in the nest;

Feathers not long enough,

Wee wings not strong enough!

Poor little sparrow!

Poor little breast!

WHAT IF?

When I see the new moon lightly

Through cloud ripples slip,

Then I'm sure that shining brightly

It's a fairy ship!

What if in it we were sailing

Far and far away,

With a wake of silver trailing,

Till the golden day?

Why, we'd fly back home together

Safely from the sky,

For the moon's a fairy feather

When the sun is high!

EASTER EGGS

Seven little nests of hay

We have made, for Easter day

Is to-morrow, and you know

We must have them ready, so

When the Rabbit comes she'll see

We expected her, that we

Children tried our very best

Each to make the nicest nest.

One is in the lilac-bush,

Near the ground—last year a thrush

Built a nest there—let me see,

Two are by the apple-tree,

In the clover—that makes three—

One beside the playhouse door,

—Three plus one, that must be four—

Two are in the tulip-bed—

Was it seven that I said?

Oh, yes! six I've counted, and

One is in our pile of sand.

Come and see! Oh, hurry, hurry!

For the Rabbit, kind and furry,

Has been here again and laid

Eggs in every nest we made!

Purple, orange, red, and blue,

Pink and green and yellow, too,

Like a bunch of finest flowers

Ever seen, and all are ours!

And oh, look! What do you think!

Here our names are in white ink,

All spelled nicely so we know

Just where every egg should go!

Is it not surprising, quite,

How well Easter Rabbits write?

THE BIRDS' BATH

In our garden we have made

Such a pretty little pool,

Lined with pebbles neatly laid,

Filled with water clean and cool.

THE BIRDS' BATH

When the sun shines warm and high

Robins cluster round its brink,

Never one comes flying by

But will flutter down to drink.

Then they splash and splash and splash,

Spattering little showers bright

All around, till off they flash

Singing sweetly their delight.

NOVEMBER MORNING

A tingling, misty marvel

Blew hither in the night,

And now the little peach-trees

Are clasped in frozen light.

Upon the apple-branches

An icy film is caught,

With trailing threads of gossamer

In pearly patterns wrought.

The autumn sun, in wonder,

Is gayly peering through

This silver-tissued network

Across the frosty blue.

The weather-vane is fire-tipped,

The honeysuckle shows

A dazzling icy splendor,

And crystal is the rose.

Around the eaves are fringes

Of icicles that seem

To mock the summer rainbows

With many-colored gleam.

Along the walk, the pebbles

Are each a precious stone;

The grass is tasseled hoarfrost,

The clover jewel-sown.

Such sparkle, sparkle, sparkle

Fills all the frosty air,

Oh, can it be that darkness

Is ever anywhere!

THE RUNAWAY

A frantic clatter of horses' feet!

A runaway's coming down the street!

Flurry, scurry,

Children, hurry!

Drop your playthings! Quick! don't wait!

Run and get within the gate!

Push the baby in the door,

Scramble in yourselves before

—Whoa! Whoa!

There they go!

Pell-mell rushing, snorting, quaking,

Wagon rumbling, harness breaking,

Frightened so they cannot know

Everybody's shrieking "Whoa!"

O my, don't cry!

Whiz, bang, they've galloped by!

No one hurt, but horses dashed

Round a post and wagon smashed!

Dear me! Dear me!

When a runaway we see,

Children, too, must run, oh, fast!

Run and hide as it goes past!

LOST!

"Peep! Peep! Peep!" Poor little chick!

Little cry so weak and small,

Meadow grass so tall and thick,

And the clover tufts so tall!

Little heart in sore distress,

Longing for the mother wing;

Through the weedy wilderness

Searching for its sheltering!

THE QUEEN'S PAGE

Once I was a little page

To a May-day queen,

And I wore a little coat

Made of Lincoln green.

Oh, the queen was beautiful!

And she had a bright

Crown of golden cuckoo-buds

And violets blue and white.

On the step beside her throne

I sat very still,

Ready, as a page should be,

To obey her will.

And before us little girls,

Each with garlands gay,

Round a May-pole danced and sang

Almost all the day.

OUR TREE-TOAD

Grandfather says the tree-toad,

That to our yard has come,

Is just a little wee toad

No bigger than his thumb!

And that his coat's so queer it

Can turn from green to blue!

Whatever color's near it,

Why, that's its color, too!

And then Grandfather snickers

And says, "Would you suppose

He climbs with little stickers

On all his little toes?

"And don't you wish your toes now

Were fixed like his? For, see,

Right up the elm he goes now

And sticks tight to the tree!"

"But then," he says, "O dear me!

If all the little boys

Could screech as loud, I fear me

There'd be a dreadful noise!"

IN THE WATER-WORLD

Down among the water-weeds,

Darting through the grass,

Round about the tasseled reeds,

See the minnows pass!

See the little turtles there,

Hiding, half asleep,

Tucked in tangled mosses where

Tiny crayfish creep!

Watch the trailing grasses string

Strands of purple shells

That the lazy ripples ring,

Sweet as silver bells;

Watch the sunshine sift and drift

Down the eddy whirls,

Whence the laden whiteweeds lift

Loads of blossom pearls;

While the limpid shadows slip

Softly in between,

And the pussy-willows dip

Lightly in the green

Of the mocking trees that grow

Down the water-sky,

Flecked with fleecy clouds that blow

Where the reed-birds fly.

Oh, such marvels manifold

Fill the summer stream,

Such enticing things untold

Through the ripples gleam,

If you could a moment turn

Into what you wish,

Would it not be fun to be

Yonder little fish?

WHO WAS IT?

Of course I've heard the moon's green cheese,

But will somebody tell me, please,

Who was it took so big a bite

There's scarcely any left to-night?

VISITING DAY

I'll wear the striped skirt that trails,

And you the flowered one,

And we will take our parasols

And walk out in the sun.

We'll leave our dolly-carts at home,

For ladies, when they call,

Must not have children with them, no,

That would not do at all.

And I'll be "Mrs. Wilkinson,"

And you'll be "Mrs. Brown,"

And we will call and call and call

On every one in town!

A VALENTINE TO CATHERINE

If you will be my True-Love,

I'll tell you what I'll do,

I'll ask a little bluebird

To sing a song to you.

When first you see a violet

And softly pricking through

The garden-bed come crocuses

And golden tulips, too,

Then watch! for he'll be coming,

The little bird of blue;

He'll sing, "I love you, Sweetheart,

It's true, true, true!"

FIREFLIES

Look! Look down in the garden how

The firefly lights are flitting now!

A million tiny sparks I know

Flash through the pinks and golden-glow,

And I am very sure that all

Have come to light a fairy ball,

And if I could stay up I'd see

How gay the fairy folks can be!

THE RAINY DAY

Let's sail all day, away, away

To the splendid Spanish Main

And the sultry seas of the Caribbees

And skies that never rain!

As pirates bold with bags of gold

And cutlasses and things,

We'll pack doubloons and silver spoons

In chests with iron rings.

And these we'll carry and secretly bury

In cannibal isles afar;

Like Captain Kidd, when they're safely hid

We won't tell where they are.

Let's sail all day, away, away

To the splendid Spanish Main

And the sultry seas of the Caribbees

—But at night sail home again!

THE FIRST RED-BIRD

I heard a song at daybreak,

So honey-sweet and clear,

The essence of all joyous things

Seemed mingling in its cheer.

The frosty world about me

I searched with eager gaze,

But all was slumber-bound and wrapped

In violet-tinted haze.

Then suddenly a sunbeam

Shot slanting o'er the hill,

And once again from out the sky

I heard that honied trill.

And there upon a poplar,

Poised at its topmost height,

I saw a little singer clad

In scarlet plumage bright.

The poplar branches quivered,

By dawn winds lightly blown,

And like a breeze-swept poppy-flower

The red-bird rocked and shone.

The blue sky, and his feathers

Flashed o'er by golden light,

Oh, all my heart with rapture thrilled,

It was so sweet a sight!

THE WEATHER-VANE

Turn, turn, when pelting rain

Rushes down the window-pane;

Turn, turn, and turn again

When the sun shines, weather-vane!

Fie! Fie! to always be

Emblem of uncertainty!

Followed by the restless sea,

Changeful moons may wax and wane,

Yet the moons and sea-tides, too,

Constant are compared to you!

Fickle still you must remain

Long as winds blow, weather-vane!

THE SWAN

Stately swan, so proud and white

Glistening in the morning light,

Come and tell me is it true

That a snow-white swan like you,

Guided by bright golden chains

In his beak for bridle reins,

Once upon a time from far

Fabled lands where fairies are

Brought a magic boat wherein

Rode the brave knight Lohengrin?

Stately swan, so proud and white

Glistening in the morning light,

If you only wore a gold

Harness, like that swan of old,

And if trailing in your wake

Sailing on the silver lake

Was a boat of magic and

You could float to fairy-land,

Then I'd jump in and begin

Traveling like Lohengrin!

BABY'S BAKING

So, so, spade and hoe,

Little pile of sand;

See it turning into dough

In the baby's hand!

Little pie with crimpy crust,

Set it in the sun;

Sugar it with powdered dust,

And bake it till it's done.

A SURE SIGN

When you see upon the walk

Circles newly made of chalk,

And around them all the day

Little boys in eager play

Rolling marbles, agates fine,

Banded, polished, red as wine,

Marbles crystal as the dew,

Each with rainbows twisted through,

Marbles gay in painted clay,

Flashing, twinkling in your way,

When the walk has blossomed so,

Surely every one must know

None need wonder who has heard

Robin, wren, or Peter-bird;

Sure the sign as song or wing,

It is spring!

ANOTHER SURE SIGN

When pink-cheeked on every hand

Little girls are seen to stand

Turning skipping ropes,—swish-swash!—

While their laughing playmates run

Jumping over,—oh, what fun!—

Swish-swash! Swish-swash!

Two and two now, see them dash!

One, two, one, two,

Round they scamper, safely through,

Swish-swash! such merry skipping,

One, two,—some one is tripping!

Ah, she's out now and must pay

Turning rope while others play!

See the bobbing golden curls,

Little skirts in rhythmic swirls

Rising, falling, to the beat

Of the little skipping feet!

When these pretty sights appear,

It is surely very clear

April's here!

THE ROBIN'S BATH

A flash and flicker of dripping wings,

A wet red breast that glows

Bright as the newly opened bud

The first red poppy shows,

A sparkle of flying rainbow drops,

A glint of golden sun

On ruffled feathers, a snatch of song,

And the robin's bath is done.

THE FROSTED PANE

When I wakened, very early,

All my window-pane was pearly

With a sparkling little picture traced in lines of shining white;

Some magician with a gleaming

Frosty brush, while I was dreaming,

Must have come and by the starlight worked through all the quiet night.

He had painted frosty people,

And a frosty church and steeple,

And a frosty bridge and river tumbling over frosty rocks;

Frosty mountain peaks that glimmered,

And fine frosty ferns that shimmered,

And a frosty little pasture full of frosty little flocks.

It was all touched in so lightly

And it glittered, oh, so whitely,

That I gazed and gazed in wonder at the lovely painted pane;

Then the sun rose high and higher

With his wand of golden fire

Till, alas, my picture vanished and I looked for it in vain!

THE FIRST SNOW

The snow! the snow! Whoop! Hooray! Ho! Ho!

Plunge in the deep drifts and toss it up so!

Rollick and roll in the feathery fleece

Plucked out of the breasts of the marvelous geese

By the little old woman who lives in the sky;

Have ever you seen her? No, neither have I!

GRANDFATHER KNOWS

Grandfather says of all things

The silliest he's heard

Is that some children call things

They've never seen, "absurd!"

And have their doubts of true things,

And won't believe, because

They say, "If you but knew things,

There is no Santa Claus!"

Grandfather says he knows him,

And sees him every year,

And Santa often shows him

The playthings he brings here;

He says, too, Santa told him

If any girls and boys

Laugh at and won't uphold him,

They'll not get any toys!

SLEIGH-BELLS

Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle!

Happy winter-time!

Baby's eyes a-twinkle,

Hear the sleigh-bells chime!

Each one rings a merry

Ting-a-ling-a-ling!

For a sleigh-bell fairy

Hides inside to sing.

See them quake and quiver,

Up and downward tossed,

Seems as if they shiver

In the nipping frost!

Shiver into laughter,

Jolly little elves!

Till we laugh thereafter,

Merry as themselves!

THE RED-BIRD

Swept lightly by the south wind

The elm-leaves softly stirred,

And in their pale green clusters

There straightway bloomed a bird!

His glossy feathers glistened

With dyes as richly red

As any tulip flaming

From out the garden bed.

But ah, unlike the tulips,

In joyous strain, ere long,

This red-bird flower unfolded

A heart of golden song!

WILD BEASTS

I will be a lion

And you shall be a bear,

And each of us will have a den

Beneath a nursery chair;

And you must growl and growl and growl,

And I will roar and roar,

And then—why, then—you'll growl again,

And I will roar some more!

WHEREFORE WINGS?

Heigho, sparrow! Reckless of the rain;

When chill the cheerless wind grows,

Chirping might and main!

Is it naught, then, when the rose

Blows again?

Beating, sleeting on your draggled coat!

Surely, 'tis enough to drown

Any happy note

Nestling in that downy brown

Little throat.

Ah me, sparrow! Had I but your power,

Think you in the freezing sleet

I would waste an hour?

—I'd sing my sweetest to a sweet

Orange flower!

BASKING

Frosty winter chased away

By the blessed sun,

Down upon the garden walks

Basking has begun.

Oh, the happy, happy heat!

How the pulses stir,

How it warms the hearts beneath

Little coats of fur!

Oh, the happy pussy-cats!

Days to doze and doze,

And what pleasant dreams they dream

Only pussy knows.

WITH A MAY-BASKET FOR BABY AGNES

Peach-buds to meet thee,

Robins to greet thee,

Hey, little Sweetheart! and May morning, hey!

Sunbeam and sing time,

Bluebird and wing time,

This time is kiss time for sweethearts, I say!

Dearest, God bless thee,

Fold and caress thee,

Unto thy cradle may good fairies fly!

Fortune be fair for thee,

This is my prayer for thee,

Lullaby, little one, hush-a-by-bye!

So for a love now

Token thereof now,

Sweet, see this tiny May-basket I bring;

Posies to play with,

Pinks to be gay with,

Dear little baby of sunshine and spring!

THE LITTLE NEST

A little picture haunts me;

It comes and comes again;

It is a tiny bird's-nest,

All ragged from the rain.

It clings within a birch-tree

Upon the moorland's edge,

Between the barren branches,

Above the swaying sedge.

The sky is gray behind it,

And when the north winds blow,

The birch-tree bends and shivers,

And tosses to and fro.

I wonder, does it haunt them,

The birds that flew away?

And will they come to seek it,

Some sunny summer day?

I wonder, does some redbreast

Upon an orange-bough,

Still picture it as plainly

As I can see it now?

Ah me! I would forget it,

Yet still, with sense of pain,

I see this little bird's-nest

Within the driving rain.

CHRISTMAS CANDLES

When the Christ-child comes again

Softly down the street to-night,

Twinkling through the window pane

Let our candles shed their light.

Though the clouds are dark above

And the golden stars are dim,

We can tell Him of our love

If we set a light for Him.

Oh, the blessed Christ-child dear,

In His robe of shining white,

Let our candles give Him cheer

As He passes by to-night!

A SONG OF THE CHRISTMAS-TREE

CHRISTMAS CANDLES

We can tell Him of our love

If we set a light for Him.

Hurrah! Hurrah! for the Christmas-tree

With its glory and glitter and mystery!

Its twinkling candles that bud and bloom

Like strange bright flowers in the darkened room,

Its glistening gold and silver balls,

Its candy canes and its blue-eyed dolls,

The sugary fruits it bears,—for oh,

Where else do such wonderful sweetmeats grow?—

Its tasseled horns and its pop-corn strings

And all its myriad marvelous things!

O-ho! and ah-ha!

And a hip hurrah!

For our dear and beautiful tree, because

It grew in the gardens of Santa Claus

And he brought it here in his reindeer sleigh

From ever and ever so far away!

So, children, come, let us make a ring

And all clasp hands as we dance and sing

To the blessed tree and the blessed night

When the Christ-child walks in the candles' light!

Hurrah! Hurrah! for the Christmas-tree

That Santa Claus brought to you and me!

He cut it down with a silver axe—

There's a tree in each of his million packs!—

And carried it safely over the snow

And down our chimney and here, you know;

Its golden cobwebs that glint and gleam

He took from a lovely Christmas dream

And tangled them over it till, behold,

It shines like the fabled Fleece of Gold!

Oh, Santa Claus, here's

A thrice three cheers

For garlands green and berries of red,

And mistletoe clustering overhead,

For the joy of our Christmas festival!

But our beautiful tree, it is best of all!

And circling still in a merry ring

We'll still clasp hands as we dance and sing

To the blessed tree and the blessed night

When the Christ-child walks in the candles' light!

Hurrah! Hurrah! for the Christmas-tree!

And look, O look to its tip and see

The feathery slim fir leaves and where,

In the topmost boughs, is the image fair

Of the Christ-child nestling amid the green

And the little brown cones that peep between!

And high above Him glittering bright

A gold star sparkles with golden light,

And we children think, as we gaze on them,

Of the wonderful Star of Bethlehem,

Of the lovely Star

And the Kings who far,

Oh, far, came seeking a Babe and brought

Their love and worship to Him they sought,

And made Him gifts, as the gifts we make

With loving hearts for that Baby's sake.

Oh, come, come all, and join the ring!

Let all clasp hands as we dance and sing

To the blessed tree and the blessed night

When the Christ-child walks in the candles' light!

OUR KITTENS

Our kittens have the softest fur,

And the sweetest little purr,

And such little velvet paws

With such cunning little claws,

And blue eyes, just like the sky!

(Must they turn green, by and by?)

Two are striped like tigers, three

Are as black as black can be,

And they run so fast and play

With their tails, and are so gay,

Is it not a pity that

Each must grow into a cat?

IN JULY

Let us find a shady wady

Pretty little brook;

Let us have some candy handy,

And a picture-book.

There all day we'll stay and play and

Never mind the heat,

While the water gleaming, streaming,

Ripples round our feet.

And we'll gather curly pearly

Mussel-shells while bright

Frightened minnows darting, parting,

Scurry out of sight.

What if, what if,—heigho! my oh!—

All the "ifs" were true,

And the little fishes wishes,

Now, what would you do?

A VALENTINE TO A LITTLE CHILD

Dear heart, on this thrice-blessed day,

An thou my sweetheart be,

The rose of love shall bide alway

Upon the red-rose tree.

And in the garden of my heart

So ceaselessly shall shine,

The little birds will know thou art

Mine own true Valentine.

And I will bid them wing and sing

To all good winds that blow,

That to thy little feet they bring

All blessings, even so.

And o'er thy cradle I will coax,

By every lucky charm,

The friendship of the fairy folks

To fold thee from all harm.

So may they hover round thy head

And gently thereupon,

As doth the April sunshine, shed

Most gracious benison.

And all fair gifts that Fortune hath,

I'll pray she promise these,

And that she loose about thy path

All sweet influences.

Then here's a kiss! and there's a kiss!

And kisses, one, two, three!

I seal them in the folds of this,

And speed them unto thee!

ZIP!

When we went to drive the cows home

Down the lane to-day,

There was such a funny bunny

Jumped across the way!

All we saw as he ran past us,

Faster than a quail,

Was his snow-white fuzzy-wuzzy

Little cotton tail!

A LITTLE CAROL

Welcome, little Brother!

Lowly, holy One!

Hail thee, Virgin Mother,

More than any other

Blessed in thy Son!

Child, since the poor manger

Once thou didst not scorn,

Rest thee, little Stranger,

Folded from all danger,

In our hearts new-born!

Nestle thus, we pray thee,

In our love's caress;

Fain we are to pay thee

Worship, and obey thee,

Babe, and Prince no less!

SONG

Honey-dew drippity-drops for a feast,

Dreams of delight when the feasting has ceased,

Poppy and rose,

Drain them and doze;

This is a song that the butterfly knows.

THE THREE CANDLES

When the Christmas-tide drew nigh,

On a shelf three candles bright,

Two were red and one was white,

Waited for who came to buy.

Said the first one, "I shall be

Chosen for a Christmas-tree!"

Said the second, "I shall light

Christ Jesus on His way to-night!"

Then the third one sighed, "Ah me,

I know not what my lot will be!"

When the dark fell, bright and gay

The first candle burned away,

Red as all the berries red

On the holly overhead,

While the children in their glee

Danced around the Christmas-tree.

And the second, twinkling bright,

Poured forth all its golden light

Through a window decked with green

Garlands and red ribbons' sheen,

So the Christ-child when He came

Might be guided by its flame.

But the third one in the gloom

Of a bare and cheerless room

Softly burned where long had lain

A poor little child in pain,

And the baby in its bed

By the light was comforted.

When the Christ-child passed that night

All three candles gave Him light,

But the brightest was the spark

By the baby in the dark.

THE END

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILD SONGS OF CHEER ***

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Table of Contents

CHILD SONGS OF CHEER

EVALEEN STEIN

ILLUSTRATIONS BY

ANTOINETTE INGLIS

BOSTON LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. Published, August, 1918

Contents

Illustrations

Child Songs of Cheer

UP, LITTLE ONES!

DANDELIONS

OUR PUPPIES

THE LOST BALLOON

THE CIRCUS PROCESSION

MAY-BASKETS

THE PICTURE-BOOK GIANT

DID YOU EVER?

DECORATION DAY

CHU-CHU CARS

FAIRY RINGS

THE FIREFLY

A RAIN SONG

FAIRIES

THE LITTLE FIR-TREES

THE WREN-HOUSE

THE BABY'S RIDE

AN INDIAN RAID

THE FIRST SLEIGH-RIDE

SLEEPY TIME

WHEN BETTIE AND ANNE WENT WALKING

THE BLUEBIRD

THE ORGAN-GRINDER

THE NEW MOON

SHOWERY TIME

EASTER DAY

THE SANDMAN

DANDELION CURLS

POP-CORN

THE RASH LITTLE SPARROW

WHAT IF?

EASTER EGGS

THE BIRDS' BATH

NOVEMBER MORNING

THE RUNAWAY

LOST!

THE QUEEN'S PAGE

OUR TREE-TOAD

IN THE WATER-WORLD

WHO WAS IT?

VISITING DAY

A VALENTINE TO CATHERINE

FIREFLIES

THE RAINY DAY

THE FIRST RED-BIRD

THE WEATHER-VANE

THE SWAN

BABY'S BAKING

A SURE SIGN

ANOTHER SURE SIGN

THE ROBIN'S BATH

THE FROSTED PANE

THE FIRST SNOW

GRANDFATHER KNOWS

SLEIGH-BELLS

THE RED-BIRD

WILD BEASTS

WHEREFORE WINGS?

BASKING

WITH A MAY-BASKET FOR BABY AGNES

THE LITTLE NEST

CHRISTMAS CANDLES

A SONG OF THE CHRISTMAS-TREE

OUR KITTENS

IN JULY

A VALENTINE TO A LITTLE CHILD

ZIP!

A LITTLE CAROL

SONG

THE THREE CANDLES

THE END

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE