WHAT MAKES MEN?
What care I for cold or snow?
School bell rings, and off I go!
I am ready for the storm,
And my heart is light and gay;
Mother's hand has wrapped me warm,
As I trudge along the way.
Mother says, “Learn all you can,
Then you'll be a better man.”
So I pack my books and go.
Through the rain or wind or snow;
For I hope some day to be
Just the man she'd like to see.
Well I know that boys must learn
To be ready for each turn,
Never idle nor afraid.
By rough struggles men are made.
So each morning, off I start.
With a merry, willing heart.
—Selected.