THE AMBITIOUS CHICKEN.
It was an Easter chicken
So blithesome and so gay;
He peeped from out his plaster shell
All on an Easter Day.
His wings were made of yellow down,
His eyes were made of beads;
He seemed, in very sooth, to have
All that a chicken needs.
He winked and blinked and peeped about,
And to himself he said,
“When first a chicken leaves the shell,
Of course he must be fed.
“And though I may be young in years,
And this my natal morn,
I’m quite, _quite_ old enough to know
Where people keep the corn.”
He winked and blinked and peeped about,
Till in a corner sly
He saw a heap of golden corn
Piled on a platter high.
“Now, this is well!” the chicken cried;
“Now, this is well, in sooth.
This corn shall nourish and sustain
My faint and tender youth.
“And I shall grow and grow apace,
And come to high estate,
With mighty feathers in my tail,
And combs upon my pate.
“To see my beauty and my grace
The feathered race will flock,
And all will bow them low before
The mighty Easter Cock.”
As thus the chicken proudly spake,
And stooped to snatch the prize,
His head fell off, and rolled away
Before his very eyes!!!!
It rolled into the dish of corn,
A sad and sombre sight,
While still upon its plaster legs,
His body stood upright.
And little Mary, when she came
With shining “popper” bright,
To pop the corn, and make the balls
Which were her heart’s delight,
Gazed at the dish with wide blue eyes,
And “Oh! Mamma!” she said:
“One piece has gone and _popped itself_
Into a chicken’s head!”
THE BOY AND THE BROOK.
Said the boy to the brook that was rippling away,
“Oh, little brook, pretty brook, will you not stay?
Oh, stay with me, play with me, all the day long,
And sing in my ears your sweet murmuring song.”
Said the brook to the boy as it hurried away,
“And is’t for my music you ask me to stay?
I was silent until from the hillside I gushed;
Should I pause for an instant, my song would be hushed.”
Said the boy to the wind that was fluttering past,
“Oh, little wind, pretty wind, whither so fast?
Oh, stay with me, play with me, fan my hot brow,
And ever breathe softly and gently as now.”
Said the wind to the boy as it hurried away,
“And is’t for my coolness you ask me to stay?
‘Tis only in flying you feel my cool breath;
Should I pause for an instant, that instant were death.”
Said the boy to the day that was hurrying by,
“Oh, little day, pretty day, why must you fly?
Oh, stay with me, play with me, just as you are;
Let no shadow of evening your noon-brightness mar.”
Said the day to the boy as it hurried away,
“And is’t for my brightness you ask me to stay?
Know, the jewel of day would no longer seem bright,
If it were not clasped round by the setting of night.”
THE SHARK.
Oh! blithe and merrily sang the shark,
As he sat on the house-top high:
A-cleaning his boots, and smoking cheroots,
With a single glass in his eye.
With Martin and Day he polished away,
And a smile on his face did glow,
As merry and bold the chorus he trolled
Of “Gobble-em-upsky ho!”
He sang so loud, he astonished the crowd
Which gathered from far and near.
For they said, “Such a sound, in the country round,
We never, no, never did hear.”
He sang of the ships that he’d eaten like chips
In the palmy days of his youth.
And he added, “If you don’t believe it is true,
Pray examine my wisdom tooth!”
He sang of the whales who’d have given their tails
For a glance of his raven eye.
And the swordfish, too, who their weapons all drew,
And swor’d for his sake they’d die.
And he sang about wrecks and hurricane decks
And the mariner’s perils and pains,
Till every man’s blood up on end it stood,
And their hair ran cold in their veins.
But blithe as a lark the merry old shark,
He sat on the sloping roof.
Though he said, “It is queer that no one draws near
To examine my wisdom toof!”
And he carolled away, by night and by day,
Until he made every one ill.
And I’ll wager a crown that unless he’s come down,
He is probably carolling still.
Read more from the PDF above.
Read these beautiful poems and rhymes for kids. List of the poems included in this poem eBook:
- The Ambitious Chicken
- The Boy And The Brook
- The Shark
- The Easter Hen
- Pump And Planet
- The Postman
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