THE CHRISTMAS BALL.

THE fiddlers were scraping so cheerily, O,

With a one, two, three, and a one, two, three,

And the children were dancing so merrily, O,

All under the shade of the Christmas-tree.

O, bonny the fruit on its branches which

grows!

And the mistletoe bough from the ceiling hung!

The fiddlers they rosined their squeaking

bows,

And the brave little lads their partners

swung.

Oh, the fiddlers they played such a merry tune,

With a one, two, three, and a one, two, three,

And the children they blossomed like roses

in June,

All under the boughs of the Christmas-tree.

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And the fiddlers were scrap-

ing so merrily, O,

With a one, two, three, and

a one, two, three;

And the children were dan-

cing so cheerily, O,

All under the shade of the

Christmas-tree—

The girl-fairy in cobweb

frock.

When, all of a sudden, a fairy-

land crew

Came whirling airily into the room,

As light as the fluffy balls, they flew,

Which fly from the purple thistle-bloom.

There were little girl-fairies in cobweb frocks

All spun by spiders from golden threads,

With butterfly-wings and glistening locks,

And wreaths of dewdrops around their

heads!

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There were little boy-fairies in jew-

elled coats

Of pansy velvet, of cost un-

told,

With chains of daisies around

their throats,

And their heads all powdered

with lily-gold!

The boy-fairy in jewelled

coat.

The fiddlers they laughed till

they scarce could see,

And then they fiddled so cheerily, O,

And the fairies and children around the tree,

They all went tripping so merrily, O.

The fiddlers they boxed up their fiddles all;

The fairies they silently flew away;

But every child at the Christmas ball

Had danced with a fairy first, they say.

So they told their mothers—and did not you

Ever have such a lovely time at your play,

My boy and my girl, that it seemed quite true

That you'd played with a fairy all the day?