"Thanks, little maiden, for all thy care, "Little bird! little bird! stay with me." 66 Nay, little damsel! away I'll fly To greener fields and warmer sky; When Spring returns with pattering rain, แ 'Little bird! little bird! who'll guide thee Over the hills and over the sea? Foolish one! come in the house to stay, For I'm very sure you'll lose your way." Ah, no, little maiden! God guides me Over the hills, and over the sea ; I will be free as the rushing air, And sing of sunshine everywhere." L. Maria Child THE ORIOLES. FOUR little mouths agape for ever; Four little throats which are never full; Four little nestlings, who dissever One big worm, by a mighty pull. Up on a limb the lazy fellow ! Perches the father, bold and gay, Close at their side, the watchful mother, Four little mouths in time grow smaller, Four little nestlings quite appall her, Spreading their wings for the sun to gild. Lazy no longer sits the father, His is the care of the singing-school; He must teach them to fly, and gather Splendid worms by the nearest pool. Singing away on the shaken branches, Under the light of the happy sun; Dropping through blossoms like avalanches, Father Oriole's work is done. Four little beaks their mouths embolden, Four little throats are round and strong; Four little nestlings, fledged and golden, Graduate in the world of song. A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW. QUOTH the boy, "I'll climb that tree, And their little nests to steal Quoth the boy, "My senses whirl ; Of the wisdom of a girl, Or the feelings of a bird! Pretty Mrs. Solomon, Tell me what you reckon on When you prate in such a strain ; Quoth the girl, "I watch them talk, And the little Robin-bird (Nice brown back and crimson breast) Sitting trembling in his nest. "What a world," he cried, "of bliss- Blithe we'd answer to their call; But a great mistake it is Boys were ever made at all." Poems written for a Child. SING ON, BLITHE BIRD ! I'VE plucked the berry from the bush, the brown nut from the tre, But heart of happy little bird ne'er broken was by me. I saw them in their curious nests, close couching, slyly peer With their wild eyes, like glittering beads, to note if harm were near; I passed them by, and blessed them all; I felt that it was good To leave unmoved the creatures small whose home was in the wood. And here, even now, above my head, a lusty rogue doth sing, Sing on, sing on, blithe bird! and fill my heart with summer gladness, It has been aching many a day with measures full of sadness! - William Motherwell. THE SANDPIPER. ACROSS the lonely beach we flit, The scattered drift-wood, bleached and dry. As up and down the beach we flit, Above our heads the sullen clouds Scud, black and swift, across the sky; I see the close-reefed vessels fly, I watch him as he skims along, He starts not at my fitful song, Nor flash of fluttering drapery. |