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William Motherwell '1797…1835' 





〃I LIKE LITTLE PUSSY〃



I like little Pussy; her coat is so warm;

And if I don't hurt her she'll do me no harm。

So I'll not pull her tail; nor drive her away;

But Pussy and I very gently will play。



She shall sit by my side; and I'll give her some food;

And she'll love me because I am gentle and good。

I'll pat little Pussy and then she will purr;

And thus show her thanks for my kindness to her。



I'll not pinch her ears; nor tread on her paw;

Lest I should provoke her to use her sharp claw;

I never will vex her; nor make her displeased;

For Pussy can't bear to be worried or teased。



Jane Taylor '1783…1824'





LITTLE THINGS



Little drops of water;

Little grains of sand;

Make the mighty ocean

And the pleasant land。



So the little moments;

Humble though they be;

Make the mighty ages

Of eternity。



So our little errors

Lead the soul away

From the path of virtue;

Far in sin to stray。



Little deeds of kindness;

Little words of love;

Help to make earth happy

Like the heaven above。



Julia Fletcher Carney '1823…1908'





THE LITTLE GENTLEMAN

From 〃Little Derwent's Breakfast〃



Take your meals; my little man;

Always like a gentleman;

Wash your face and hands with care;

Change your shoes; and brush your hair;

Then so fresh; and clean; and neat;

Come and take your proper seat:

Do not loiter and be late;

Making other people wait;

Do not rudely point or touch:

Do not eat and drink too much:

Finish what you have; before

You even ask; or send for more:

Never crumble or destroy

Food that others might enjoy;

They who idly crumbs will waste

Often want a loaf to taste!

Never spill your milk or tea;

Never rude or noisy be;

Never choose the daintiest food;

Be content with what is good:

Seek in all things that you can

To be a little gentleman。





THE CRUST OF BREAD



I must not throw upon the floor

The crust I cannot eat;

For many little hungry ones

Would think it quite a treat。



My parents labor very hard

To get me wholesome food;

Then I must never waste a bit

That would do others good。



For wilful waste makes woeful want;

And I may live to say;

Oh! how I wish I had the bread

That once I threw away!





〃HOW DOTH THE LITTLE BUSY BEE〃



How doth the little busy bee

Improve each shining hour;

And gather honey all the day

From every opening flower!



How skilfully she builds her cell!

How neat she spreads the wax!

And labors hard to store it well

With the sweet food she makes。



In works of labor or of skill;

I would be busy too;

For Satan finds some mischief still

For idle hands to do。



In books; or work; or healthful play;

Let my first years be passed;

That I may give for every day

Some good account at last。



Isaac Watts '1674…1748'





THE BROWN THRUSH



There's a merry brown thrush sitting up in the tree。

〃He's singing to me!  He's singing to me!〃

And what does he say; little girl; little boy?

〃Oh; the world's running over with joy!

Don't you hear?  Don't you see?

Hush!  Look!  In my tree;

I'm as happy as happy can be!〃



And the brown thrush keeps singing; 〃A nest do you see;

And five eggs; hid by me in the juniper…tree?

Don't meddle!  Don't touch! little girl; little boy;

Or the world will lose some of its joy!

Now I'm glad!  Now I'm free!

And I always shall be;

If you never bring sorrow to me。〃



So the merry brown thrush sings away in the tree;

To you and to me; to you and to me;

And he sings all the day; little girl; little boy;

〃Oh; the world's running over with joy!

But long it won't be;

Don't you know?  Don't you see?

Unless we're as good as can be。〃



Lucy Larcom '1824…1893'





THE SLUGGARD



'Tis the voice of a sluggard; I heard him complain;

〃You have waked me too soon; I must slumber again〃;

As the door on its hinges; so he on his bed

Turns his sides; and his shoulders; and his heavy head。



〃A little more sleep; and a little more slumber〃;

Thus he wastes half his days; and his hours without number;

And when he gets up; he sits folding his hands

Or walks about saunt'ring; or trifling he stands。



I passed by his garden; and saw the wild brier

The thorn and the thistle grow broader and higher;

The clothes that hang on him are turning to rags;

And his money still wastes till he starves or he begs。



I made him a visit; still hoping to find

That he took better care for improving his mind;

He told me his dreams; talked of eating and drinking。

But he scarce reads his Bible; and never loves thinking。



Said I then to my heart; 〃Here's a lesson for me;

That man's but a picture of what I might be;

But thanks to my friends for their care in my breeding;

Who taught me betimes to love working and reading。〃



Isaac Watts '1674…1748'





THE VIOLET



Down in a green and shady bed

A modest violet grew;

Its stalk was bent; it hung its head;

As if to hide from view。



And yet it was a lovely flower;

Its colors bright and fair;

It might have graced a rosy bower;

Instead of hiding there。



Yet there it was content to bloom;

In modest tints arrayed;

And there diffused a sweet perfume;

Within the silent shade。



Then let me to the valley go;

This pretty flower to see;

That I may also learn to grow

In sweet humility。



Jane Taylor '1783…1824'





DIRTY JIM



There was one little Jim;

'Tis reported of him;

And must be to his lasting disgrace;

That he never was seen

With hands at all clean;

Nor yet ever clean was his face。



His friends were much hurt

To see so much dirt;

And often they made him quite clean;

But all was in vain;

He got dirty again;

And not at all fit to be seen。



It gave him no pain

To hear them complain;

Nor his own dirty clothes to survey;

His indolent mind

No pleasure could find

In tidy and wholesome array。



The idle and bad;

Like this little lad;

May love dirty ways; to be sure;

But good boys are seen;

To be decent and clean;

Although they are ever so poor。



Jane Taylor '1783…1824'





THE PIN



〃Dear me! what signifies a pin;

Wedged in a rotten board?

I'm certain that I won't begin;

At ten years old; to hoard;

I never will be called a miser;

That I'm determined;〃 said Eliza。



So onward tripped the little maid;

And left the pin behind;

Which very snug and quiet lay;

To its hard fate resigned;

Nor did she think (a careless chit)

'Twas worth her while to stoop for it。



Next day a party was to ride;

To see an air balloon;

And all the company beside

Were dressed and ready soon;

But she a woeful case was in;

For want of just a single pin。



In vain her eager eyes she brings;

To every darksome crack;

There was not one; and yet her things

Were dropping off her back。

She cut her pincushion in two;

But no; not one had fallen through。



At last; as hunting on the floor;

Over a crack she lay;

The carriage rattled to the door;

Then rattled fast away;

But poor Eliza was not in;

For want of just … a single pin!



There's hardly anything so small;

So trifling or so mean;

That we may never want at all;

For service unforeseen;

And wilful waste; depend upon't;

Brings; almost always; woeful want!



Ann Taylor '1782…1866'





JANE AND ELIZA



There were two little girls; neither handsome nor plain;

One's name was Eliza; the other's was Jane;

They were both of one height; as I've heard people say;

And both of one age; I believe; to a day。



'Twas fancied by some; who but slightly had seen them;

There was not a pin to be chosen between them;

But no one for long in this notion persisted;

So great a distinction there really existed。



Eliza knew well that she could not be pleasing;

While fretting and fuming; while sulking or teasing;

And therefore in company artfully tried;

Not to break her bad habits; but only to hide。



So; when she was out; with much labor and pain;

She contrived to look almost as pleasant as Jane;

But then you might see that; in forcing a smile;

Her mouth was uneasy; and ached all the while。



And in spite of her care it would sometimes befall

That some cross event happened to ruin it all;

And because it might chance that her share was the worst;

Her temper broke loose; and her dimples dispersed。



But Jane; who had nothing she wanted to hide;

And therefore these troublesome arts never tried;

Had none of the care and fatigue of concealing;

But her face always showed what her bosom was feeling。



At home or abroad there was peace in her smile;

A cheerful good nature that needed no guile。

And Eliza worked hard; but could never obtain


The affection that freely was given to Jane。



Ann Taylor '1782…1866'





MEDDLESOME MATT

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