Hi-diddle, ho-diddle,
Pop-diddle-dee,
A lovely Moon is shining for
This Earth of ours, you see,--
Held in its cradle
Ever since its birth,
Because our globe attracted it,
As the Sun attracts the Earth.
Hi-diddle, ho-diddle,
Pop-diddle-dee,
What I mean by globe, child,
You're wondering now, I see. [{114}] A globe or a ball, dear,
Is what is round and true,
And that is why I'm calling it,
This Earth, a globe, to you.
Hi-diddle, ho-diddle,
Pop-diddle-dee,
Instead of globe I might have said
A sphere for you and me;
For all the same, in truth,
Are sphere and globe and ball,
And hemi's half so half this Earth,
A hemisphere,we call.
Hi-diddle, ho-diddle,
Pop-diddle-dee,
'T was once supposed the Earth stood still,
While Sun went round it, free;--
But now we've learned it well,
That 't is the Earth doth turn
Upon its Axis, as it's called;
And also round the Sun.
Hi-diddle, ho-diddle,
Pop-diddle-dee,
Our Earth in turning round,
How long may she be?
She turns on her axis
In a day, and a night,
But to go around the Sun
Takes a year for the flight.
WHAT IS THE AXIS?
Now you ask, "What is the Axis?"
With an apple I will show;
Place your thumb upon the stem-place,
And your finger at the blow;--
Now we'll just suppose the apple
Has a stem that passes through,
And this stem would be the Axis;
Now we'll whirl the apple, true,
Holding fast 'twixt thumb and finger,--
That's the way the Earth goes round
On its Axis, as we call it,
Though no real stem is found. [{117}] And the two ends of the Axis
Have been called the Poles, my dear;
Yes, the North Pole and the South Pole,
Where 'tis very cold and drear.
Now we'll hold a bigger apple
At a distance, for the Sun;
Tip the smaller one a little,
And then slowly wheel it round
All around the larger apple,
And it represents the Earth
Circling round the Sun that holds it,
Ceaseless, in its yearly path.
Wondrous is the strong attraction
Of the Sun which holds in place
All the Planets in their turnings,
All the Stars that see his face;
But more wondrous far the power
That created Sun and us,
And that gave a form and being,
To this mighty Universe.
"The Universe!" now you exclaim:
"By the Universe, what do you mean?" [{118}] 'Tis the Sun and the Planets, and every thing known,
That we call by this Universe name.
Now the "Planets," you ask,
"What are Planets?" They're globes,
Some larger, some smaller than Earth,--
Which are swinging in space,
And are all held in place,
By the God-power that first gave them birth.