IN THE BARN.
Once Nellie said to Susie: "It's no fun
Playing in this very hot sun,
Let's go and play with little Rover—
She is nice, with her puppies all;
You take your shade hat out of the clover,
And I will take my parasol."
Then all at once, as they said this,
Came walking along their Uncle Bliss.
"Why, children, where are you going this hot day?"
"Oh, we are going into the barn to play."
"Then, children, I must say good-day—
I hope you'll have fine fun among the hay;
Though I must go, I'll send down Joe,
And you and she will have fun, I know.
Tell Rover to take care of you,
Don't let the calf eat up your shoe;
Now once more I say adieu,
And come each and give a kiss
To your old loving Uncle Bliss."
They went to the barn and opened the door.
There they saw Rover curled up on the floor,
She wanted them to see her puppies three,
And held out her little black paw.
Suddenly they heard a noise—oh, where were the boys?—
In came walking the oxen and all the cows,
Which frightened the children so they hid in the mows;
The dog then did bark and sent them away,
And the children came crawling out of the hay.
Then, as the day grew dim and dark,
And the little dog had ceased to bark,
They said to each other good-night,
And hurried to bed by candle-light,
And soon were tucked all snug in bed,
And on top of each pillow lay a little head.
J. W. K.
And here is another verselet by a six-year-old:
Brooklyn, New York.
I have a little sister Agnes six years old, who wrote this verse about a cat we had, called Romeo, and I think it is so good that I hope you will print it with this letter in Harper's Young People.
Maud.
There dwelt once in a Brooklyn town
A little cat with fur;
Sometimes he would lick himself,
And sometimes he would purr;
His breast was as white as snow,
And this cat's name was Romeo.
Our next letter is from a wide-awake little fellow who will remember when his hair is gray how he saw the President driving through Boston streets. Who knows but that O. D. may one day himself be a Governor or a President. I am very sure that a good many future statesmen are among the boy readers of Young People:
Boston, Massachusetts.