“Little town children, and have you not heard
In this bright summer weather the song of a bird?”
“Oh yes, sir; the linnet that frets in its cage,
Or the brown little sparrow, so dingy and sage.”
“Little town children, have soft April showers
Not nursed for your playthings the sweet summer flowers?”
“Oh yes, sir; for sometimes we linger to greet
The boy who sells wall-flowers out in the street.”
“Little town children, are God’s skies so blue,
His works and his wonders, all hidden from you?”