Finally, many abuses arose in the observance of the day. In 1644 Parliament passed an act forbidding the erection of May-poles. Later, during the restoration of the gay Charles the Second, the May-poles came back and flourished for a long time. Gradually, however, as the ancient simplicity of manners departed from the lower orders of the people, who were its chief upholders, the May-day festival fell into disuse, and now there are neither May-poles nor morris-dancers nor Jacks in the Green.
[THE SPIDER AND THE FLY]
A big Black Spider was spinning away,
Spinning her lacey web all day;
And when she had finished it, close to the wall
She curled herself up in a round black ball.
Lazily buzzing, buzzing away,
A little Blue Fly was buzzing all day.
Into the open window he flew
And close to the Spider's web he drew.
"Oh, what a pretty piece of lace
Swinging away in the window space!"
The little Blue Fly remarked to himself,
As he carefully crawled on the narrow shelf.
Then he brushed the dirt from his gauzy wing
And watched the spider web swing and swing.
Now this little Fly was a mischievous Fly,
And there wasn't a bit of green in his eye!
So, as he watched it swing and swing,
He thought 'twould be fun to cut the string.
Then Mrs. Spider's hammock would fall
Down with a somersault off the wall.
Creeping up to her hiding place,
He gave a pull on the flimsy lace.
Down one end of the hammock fell,
While the Big Black Spider gave a yell.
Out thro' the window the little Fly flew;
'Twas safer out there for him, he knew.
And he said, as he winked his little blue eye:
"Good-by, Mrs. Spider; good-by, good-by!"
I hate to go to bed at night, Or get up when again it's light— It's funny that I love to do 'Most anything between these two. |
