THE FAIRY QUEEN
Come, follow, follow me—
You, fairy elves that be,
Which circle on the green—
Come, follow Mab, your queen!
Hand in hand let’s dance around,
For this place is fairy ground.
When mortals are at rest,
And snoring in their nest,
Unheard and unespied,
Through keyholes we do glide;
Over tables, stools, and shelves,
We trip it with our fairy elves.
And if the house be foul
With platter, dish, or bowl,
Up stairs we nimbly creep,
And find the sluts asleep;
There we pinch their arms and thighs—
None escapes, nor none espies.
But if the house be swept,
And from uncleanness kept,
We praise the household maid,
And duly she is paid;
For we use, before we go,
To drop a tester in her shoe.
Upon a mushroom’s head,
Our table cloth we spread;
A grain of rye or wheat
Is manchet, which we eat;
Pearly drops of dew we drink,
In acorn cups, filled to the brink.
The brains of nightingales,
With unctuous fat of snails,
Between two cockles stewed,
Is meat that’s easily chewed;
Tails of worms, and marrow of mice,
Do make a dish that’s wondrous nice.
The grasshopper, gnat, and fly,
Serve us for our minstrelsy;
Grace said, we dance a while,
And so the time beguile;
And if the moon doth hide her head,
The glow-worm lights us home to bed.
On tops of dewy grass
So nimbly do we pass,
The young and tender stalk
Ne’er bends when we do walk;
Yet in the morning may be seen
Where we the night before have been.
THE SEA PRINCESS
In a palace of pearl and sea-weed,
Set round with shining shells,
Under the deeps of the ocean,
The little Sea Princess dwells.
Sometimes she sees the shadows
Of great whales passing by,
Or white-winged vessels sailing
Between the sea and sky.
And when through the waves she rises,
Beyond the breakers’ roar,
She hears the shouts of the children
At play on the sandy shore.
Or sees the ships’ sides tower
Above like a wet, black wall;
Or shouts to the roaring breakers,
And answers the sea-gull’s call.
But, down in the quiet waters,
Better she loves to play,
Making a sea-weed garden—
Purple and green and gray;
Stringing with pearls a necklace,
Or learning curious spells
From the water-witch, gray and ancient,
And hearing the tales she tells.
Out in the stable her sea-horse
Champs in his crystal stall;
And fishes with scales that glisten
Come leaping forth at her call.
So the little Sea Princess
Is busy and happy all day,
Just as the human children
Are busy and happy at play.
And when the darkness gathers
Over the lonely deep,
On a bed of velvet sea-weed
The Princess is rocked to sleep.
LONG AGO
When the fairies used to live here,
Long ago,
There was never any dark,
Or any snow;
But the great big sun kept shining
All the night,
And the roses just kept blooming,
Oh, so bright!
Then the little children never
Teased their mothers;
And little sisters always
Loved their brothers.
And they played so very gently—
But, you know,
That was when the fairies lived here,
Long ago.
THISTLE-TASSEL[G]
BY FLORENCE HARRISON
Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel,
Dancing in the sunlight;
Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel,
With your silver wings,
Will you come and live with me
In my little nursery,
Down beside a royal city,
Where the river sings?
Little Lady, Little Lady,
Stepping in the sunlight;
Little Lady, Little Lady,
Where the rivers run,
What have you to give to me,
In your pretty nursery,
Fairer than a shady valley,
Brighter than the sun?
Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel,
Dancing in the twilight;
Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel,
With your yellow hair,
You shall have a couch of down,
You shall have a golden crown,
And a little gown of silver
Sewn for you to wear.
Little Lady, Little Lady,
Stooping in the twilight;
Little Lady, Little Lady,
All so bonnie brown,
Roses are a softer bed,
Golden flowers crown my head,
Finer than a robe o’ silver
Is a fairy gown.
Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel,
Dancing in the starlight;
Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel,
With a bright penny
You shall buy the sugar plums,
And the honey when it comes,
Very sweet, and golden-glowing
As the honey bee.
Little Lady, Little Lady,
Sighing in the starlight;
Little Lady, Little Lady,
In the heather curled,
Fairy fruit is full and clear,
And the honey bee is here:
Never need have we of money
In a fairy world.
Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel,
Dancing in the moonlight;
Thistle-Tassel, Thistle-Tassel,
Queen of fairy ones,
I will give you street and spire,
Boat, and bridge, and beacon fire,
And a sound of merry music
Where the river runs.
Little Lady, Little Lady,
Kneeling in the moonlight;
Little Lady, Little Lady,
In your yellow shoon:
Where the boats and bridges be,
Naught have you to give to me
Fairer than a twilit valley,
Brighter than the moon.
[G] From “Elfin Songs,” by Florence Harrison; used by permission of the publishers, Blackie & Sons, Glasgow.
SONG OF THE FAIRY
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Over hill, over dale,
Through bush, through brier,
Over park, over pale,
Through flood, through fire,
I do wander everywhere,
Swifter than the moon’s sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green;
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see:
These be rubies, fairy favors—
In those freckles live their savors.
I must go seek some dewdrops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.
From a Thistle Print, copyright by Detroit Publishing Company
little old man of the woods
from a painting by irving r. bacon