Lo! I will make my home
In the beautiful Land of Books;
Where the friends of childhood roam
Through most delightful nooks.
I'll rent the unfinished floor
In Aladdin's palace built,
Whose walls, to the outer door,
Are ivory and gilt.
And the Caliph—Haroun—there
Will pass in his deft disguise;
But him I'll know by his air
So grand, and his eagle eyes.
And Cinderella, too,
Will weep when her sisters whip her:
And I'll be the Prince—or you—
Who will find her crystal slipper.
And O, what fun it will be
With Robin the Bobbin to feast,
Or to frequently call and see
The Beauty and the Beast.
For she and you and I
And the Rusty Dusty Miller
Will eat of a Christmas-Pie
With Jack the Giant-Killer.
Then come, let us make our homes
In the most frequented nooks
Of the land of elves and gnomes,
In the beautiful Land of Books!
Charles Henry Lüders.