He said to the sunset far in the west,
"Come here; I want you; 'tis my behest!"
And the sunset came and stood up on the wold,
And burned and glowed in purple and gold.
Then Little Boy Blue began to ponder:
"What's to be done with them all, I wonder!"
He thought a while, then he said, quite low,
"What to do with you all, I am sure I don't know!"
The clouds clodded down till dismal it grew;
The snake sneaked close; round Birdie Brown flew;
The brook, like a cobra, rose on its tail,
And the wind sank down with a what-will-you wail,
And all the creatures sat and stared;
The mole opened the eyes that he hadn't, and glared;
And for rats and bats, and the world and his wife
Little Boy Blue was afraid of his life.
Then Birdie Brown began to sing,
And what he sang was the very thing:
"Little Boy Blue, you have brought us all hither:
Pray, are we to sit and grow old together?"