His laugh was something to make you glad, So brimful was it of joy; A conscience he had, perhaps, in his breast, But it never troubled the boy.
You met him out on the garden path, The terrier at his heels, And knew by the shout he hailed you with How happy a youngster feels.
The maiden auntie was half distraught With his tricks as the days went by; "The most mischievous child in all the world!" She said with a shrug and a sigh.
His father owned that her words were true, His mother declared each day He was putting wrinkles into her face, And turning her brown hair gray.
His grown-up sister referred to him As "a trouble," "a trial," "a grief"; The way he ignored all rules, she said, Was something beyond belief!
It never troubled the boy of the house, He revelled in racket and din, Had only one regret in the world— He hadn't been born a twin!
*****
There's nobody making a noise to-day, There's nobody stamping the floor, 'Tis strangely silent upstairs and down— White ribbons upon the door.
The terrier's whining out in the sun: "Where's my comrade?" he seems to say. Turn your plaintive eyes away, little dog, There's no frolic for you to-day.
The freckle-faced girl from the house next door Is sobbing her young heart out. Don't cry, little girl, you'll soon forget The laugh and the merry shout.