Belinda’s cap was mauve and red—
A pity that it wasn’t blue—
But it was red and mauve instead,
And very pretty colors, too.
I think I shall go straight on to the next verse without saying anything about that one.
Fourth Verse
(This is going to be a good one)
Belinda had a bathing-gown
Which had been brown a week before;
The envy of her native town
The bathing-gown Belinda wore!
I like that verse. Besides being good poetry, it explains everything. You see, Belinda’s Aunt Rotunda had given her the beautiful cap, and when Belinda went to dig castles in the sand, she decided to wear the cap to keep the sun off her head, but to wear the bathing-dress, too, so as not to mind if she got wet, which was her own idea and none of the other children had thought of it. So her Mother said, “Then we’d better dye the dress mauve,” to which her Father replied, “Wouldn’t it be easier to dye the cap brown?” And Belinda’s Mother said, “I think, dear, it might hurt Aunt Rotunda’s feelings.” So—
Belinda wore
Her bathing-gown
(A brilliant brown
The week before).
The local store
Had toned it down,
The bathing-gown
Belinda wore.
I think it looks nicer spread out like that. I will tell you a secret now. When people pay you to write poetry for them (as they often do), they pay you so much for every line you write, so sometimes you feel that a verse looks nice spread out, and sometimes the man who is paying you feels that it doesn’t. It’s just a matter of taste.
Fifth Verse
(I’m not counting the last one, because it’s a different shape from the others)
Belinda Brown was not afraid,
(Belinda was as brave as three)
And in the castle she had made
She waited for the rising sea.
Belinda was as brave as 3,
Belinda was as brave as 8;
She waited calmly while the sea
Came in at a tremendous rate.
And now we are coming to the sad part of the story. There was Belinda, as you see her in the picture, not a bit afraid, and suddenly—