OVER IN THE MEADOW

Over in the meadow,

In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother-toad

And her little toadie one. "Wink!" said the mother;

"I wink," said the one:

So he winked and he blinked
In the sand, in the sun.

Over in the meadow,

Where the stream runs blue,
Lived an old mother-fish

And her little fishes two.
"Swim!" said the mother;

"We swim," said the two:

So they swam and they leaped
Where the stream runs blue.

Over in the meadow,

In a hole in the tree,

Lived a mother-bluebird

And her little birdies three.

Over in the meadow,

In the reeds on the shore, Lived a mother-muskrat,

And her little ratties four. "Dive!" said the mother;

"We dive," said the four: So they dived and they burrowed In the reeds on the shore.

Over in the meadow,

In a snug beehive,

Lived a mother-honeybee And her little honeys five. "Buzz!" said the mother;

"We buzz," said the five:

So they buzzed and they hummed In the snug beehive.

Over in the meadow,

In a nest built of

sticks,

Lived a black mother

crow

And her little crows six.

"Caw!" said the mother;

"We caw," said the six:

So they cawed and they called
In their nest built of sticks.

Lived a brown mother-lizard And her little lizards eight. "Bask!" said the mother;

"We bask," said the eight: So they basked in the sun On the old mossy gate.

Over in the meadow,

Where the clear pools shine, Lived a green mother-frog And her little froggies nine. "Croak!" said the mother; "We croak," said the nine: So they croaked and they splashed Where the clear pools shine.

Over in the meadow,

In a sly little den,

Lived a gray mother

spider

And her little spiders

ten.

"Spin!" said the mother;
"We spin," said the ten:
So they spun lace webs

In their sly little den.

Over in the meadow,

In the soft summer even,

Lived a mother-firefly

And her little flies eleven. "Shine!" said the mother;

"We shine," said the eleven:

So they shone like stars

In the soft summer even.

Over in the meadow,

Where the men dig and delve,

Lived a wise mother-ant

And her little anties twelve.

"Toil!" said the mother;

"We toil," said the twelve: So they toiled, and were wise

Where the men dig and delve. -OLIVE A. WADSWORTH.