A STRANGE TALE. There was an old woman tossed in a blanket, Seventeen times as high as the moon; But where she was going no mortal could tell, For under her arm she carried a broom. "Old woman, old woman, old woman," said I, 66 Whither, ah whither, ah whither so high?" "To sweep the cobwebs from the sky, And I'll be with you by and by." FOUR-AND-TWENTY-TAILORS. Four-and-twenty-tailors Went to kill a snail; Durst not touch her tail; She put out her horns Like a little Kyloe cow; Run, tailors, run, or She'll kill you all just now. A NEEDLE AND THREAD. Old Mother Twichett had but one eye, And every time she went through a gap, O, LOOK AT THE MOON! O, look at the moon, She is shining up there; O, mother, she looks Like a lamp in the air. Last week she was smaller, THE SUN. Who am I, with noble face, When my noble face I show All the clouds away do ride And the dusky night beside. Then the clear wet dews I dry, Then the busy people go, THE SUN AND THE NORTH WIND. A dispute once arose between the Sun and the North Wind as to which was the stronger of the two. Seeing a traveller on his way, they agreed to try which could the sooner make him throw off his cloak. The North Wind began, and sent a fierce blast which, at the outset, nearly tore the cloak from its fastenings; but the traveller took hold of the garment with a firm grip, and held it round his body so tightly that the North Wind put out all the rest of his force in vain. Then the Sun, driving away the clouds that had gathered, darted his most sultry beams on the traveller's head. The man, growing faint with the heat, flung off his cloak, and ran for protection to the nearest shade. A SONG OF THE WIND. Arthur O'Bower has broken his band, The King of Scots, with all his power, THREE WISE MEN OF GOTHAM. Three wise men of Gotham Went to sea in a bowl; And if the bowl had been stronger, My song had been longer. I SAW A SHIP A-SAILING. I saw a ship a-sailing, A-sailing on the sea, And, oh! it was all laden With pretty things for thee! There were comfits in the cabin, The sails were made of silk, And the masts were made of gold. The four-and-twenty sailors That stood between the decks, Were four-and-twenty white mice, The captain was a duck, With a packet on his back; And when the ship began to move, JINGLE. Bow, wow, wow, Whose dog art thou? Little Tom Tinker's dog, Bow, wow, wow. |