Wherefore all sorts of boys that were
Accursed, swung by it;
Till he grew savage in his mind
And vex'd, above a bit:
And so he swept his tail, as one
Awak'ning from a dream;
And those abominable ones
Flew off into the stream.
Likewise they hobbled up and down,
Like many apples there;
Till they subsided—and became
Amongst the things that were.
* * * * *
And so it had a moral too,
That would be bad to lose;
"Whoever takes a Tail in hand
Should mind his p's and queues."
I dreamt it!—such a funny thing!
And now it's taken wing;
I s'pose no man before or since
Dreamt such a funny thing?
H. Cholmondeley-Pennell.
THE DINKEY-BIRD
In an ocean, 'way out yonder
(As all sapient people know),
Is the land of Wonder-Wander,
Whither children love to go;
It's their playing, romping, swinging,
That give great joy to me
While the Dinkey-Bird goes singing
In the Amfalula-tree!
There the gum-drops grow like cherries,
And taffy's thick as peas,—
Caramels you pick like berries
When, and where, and how you please:
Big red sugar-plums are clinging
To the cliffs beside that sea
Where the Dinkey-Bird is singing
In the Amfalula-tree.