The Tree bore his fruit in the midsummer glow: Said the girl, "May I gather thy berries now?" "Yes, all thou canst see; Take them all are for thee," Said the Tree, while he bent down his laden boughs low. BJÖRNSTJERNE BJÖRNSON. * 2 * UNDER THE GREENWOOD TREE. UNDER the greenwood tree1 Who 2 loves to lie with me, And tune his merry note Unto the sweet bird's throat, Come hither, come hither, come hither! Here shall we see No enemy But winter and rough weather. Who 2 doth ambition shun, And loves to live i̇' the sun 3 And pleased with what he gets, Here shall he see No enemy But winter and rough weather. W. SHAKESPEARE. 1 greenwood tree, a tree with the green leaves out. 2 he who. But not alone to plant and bird It glided by the cotter's 1 door, It blessed the labors of the poor. And would that I could thus be found, Where'er my footsteps stray, Like that pure stream, with tranquil breast, * 5 * M. A. STODART. A LILY'S WORD. My delicate Lily, Blossom of fragrant snow, Breathing on me from the garden, How does your beauty grow? Tell me what blessing the kind heavens give! How do you find it so sweet to live? One loving smile of the sun Charms me out of the mould; One tender tear of the rain 1 cotter, one who lives in a cot, or small house. Welcome whatever the kind heavens give, * 6 * THE TIGER. TIGER, tiger, burning bright In what distant deeps or skies And what shoulder, and what art What the hammer, what the chain, 1 symmetry, beauty of form. * 7 * THE EAGLE. HE clasps the crag with hooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ringed with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; ALFRED TENNYSON. * 8 * THE LION. LION, thou art girt with might, To a mightier than thou Never has been known to thee, Power the mightiest gave the lion Gave a heart that never quailed. Triple-mailéd1 coat of steel, Plates of brass from head to heel, When he sends his roaring forth, Lion, thou art made to dwell MARY HOWITT 1 'a coat of mail' is defensive armor for the body, formed of a network of steel rings or plates. 2 were, would be. 3 a threefold band of tyrants, three tyrants. |