SPRING PLANTING
"What shall we plant for our Summer, my boy,—
Seeds of enchantment and seedlings of joy?
Brave little cuttings of laughter and light?
Then shall our summer be flowery and bright."
"Nay!—You are wrong in your planting," said he,
"Have we not grass and the weeds and a tree?
Why should we water and weary away
For sake of a flower that lives but a day!"
So she made gardens which he would not dig,
Tended her apricot, apple and fig.
Then, when one morning he chanced to appear,
Sadly he noticed—"No trespassing here."
Helen Hay Whitney
IF I COULD DIG LIKE A RABBIT
If I could dig holes in the ground like a rabbit,
D'you know what I'd do?
Well, I'd dig a deep hole—
Right under that tree—
Then I'd go down—and down,
And find out where the tree starts,
And I'd find out how it eats and drinks,
And what makes it grow....
Yes I would!
P'r'aps I could dig a hole right up into that tree,
And—see—it—grow!...
But p'r'aps I couldn't.
Anyway I could dig 'way down,
And see all the flower seeds,
And all the grass seeds,
And under that big rock there might be some rock seeds.
And I'd see everything start growing.
Do all the seeds make noises
When they start to grow?
What do You s'pose about that?
I s'pose they sing,
'Cause they're so glad to come up here and see the sunshine....