[Illustration: Phebe and Billy going to School.]
"O Miss, I fairly jumped for joy,
My spirits were so light:
And so, when I had leave to play,
I pick'd with all my might.
"I sold enough to get my shoes,
About a week ago;
And these, if they had not been spilt,
Would buy a bonnet too.
"But now they are gone, they all are gone,
And I can get no more,
And Sundays I must stay at home
Just as I did before.
"And, mother, then. I cried again,
As hard as I could cry;
And, looking up, I saw a tear
Was standing in her eye.
"She caught her bonnet from her head—
'Here, here,' she cried, 'take this!'
O, no, indeed—I fear your 'ma
Would be offended, Miss.
[Illustration]
"'My 'ma! no, never! she delights
All sorrow to beguile;
And 'tis the sweetest joy she feels,
To make the wretched smile.
"'She taught me when I had enough,
To share it with the poor:
And never let a needy child
Go empty from the door.