He met there a somewhat discouraged old cow,
That had blown thither too, though she failed to see how;
And he smiled and said, "Make yourself easy, my friend—
Only keep your mind quiet, and things'll soon mend!"
And he laughed "He-he!" and he laughed "Ho-ho!
The wind is just playing, old cow, you know!"
As he scampered off home, what above should he see
But the roof of a shed, that had lodged in a tree;
So he laughed and he laughed, till his sides they did ache,
For he said, "This is better nor wedding nor wake!"
And he roared "Ho-ho!" and he roared "He-he!"
For he was as tickled as tickled could be.

"That boy," say the terrified folks of the town,
"He would laugh just the same if the sky tumbled down!"
"Indeed, an' I would," fancied Mike, with a grin,
"For I might get a piece with a lot of stars in!"
And he chuckled "He-he!" and he chuckled "Ho-ho!"
The very idea delighted him so!
His father complained to the priest, "Now, I say,
Mike never stops laughing, by night or by day!"
"Let him laugh," spoke the priest; "he will change by and by,
And 't is better to laugh than to grumble or cry!
It's the way with the lad; let him laugh, if he like;
And be glad you've a son that's as merry as Mike!"