The judge selected for the case Ran here and there about the place With warning cries and gesture wide And seemed unable to decide. And there they might be tugging still, With equal strength and equal will— But while they struggled, stars withdrew And hints of morning broader grew, Till arrows from the rising sun Soon made them drop the rope and run. |
THE BROWNIES' FEAST.
In best of spirits, blithe and free,—
As Brownies always seem to be,—
A jovial band, with hop and leap,
Were passing through a forest deep,
When in an open space they spied
A heavy caldron, large and wide,
| Where woodmen, working at their trade, A rustic boiling-place had made. "My friends," said one, "a chance like this No cunning Brownie band should miss, All unobserved, we may prepare And boil a pudding nicely there; |
| Some dying embers smolder still Which we may soon revive at will; And by the roots of yonder tree A brook goes babbling to the sea. At Parker's mill, some miles below, They're grinding flour as white as snow An easy task for us to bear Enough to serve our need from there: |