* * * * *

The little moon came out too soon,
And in her fright looked thin and white,
  The stars then shone,
  And every one
Twinkled and winked and laughed and blinked. 
The great sun now rolled forth in might
And drove them all quite out of sight.

TO A HONEY-BEE.

“Busy-body, busy-body,
  Always on the wing,
Wait a bit, where you have lit,
  And tell me why you sing.”

Up, and in the air again,
  Flap, flap, flap! 
And now she stops, and now she drops
  Into the rose’s lap.

“Come, just a minute come,
  From your rose so red.” 
Hum, hum, hum, hum—­
  That was all she said.

“Busy-body, busy-body,
  Always light and gay,
It seems to me, for all I see,
  Your work is only play.”

And now the day is sinking to
  The goldenest of eves,
And she doth creep for quiet sleep
  Among the lily-leaves.

“Come, just a moment come,
  From your snowy bed.” 
Hum, hum, hum, hum—­
  That was all she said.

But, the while I mused, I learned
  The secret of her way: 
Do my part with cheerful heart,
  And turn my work to play.

* * * * *

A cat came fiddling out of a barn,
With a pair of bag-pipes under her arm;
She could sing nothing but fiddle-de-dee,
The mouse has married the bumble-bee;
Pipe, cat,—­dance, mouse,—­
We’ll have a wedding at our good house.

* * * * *

  A dillar, a dollar,
  A ten o’clock scholar,
What makes you come so soon? 
You used to come at ten o’clock,
But now you come at noon.

* * * * *

  As I was going to St. Ives,
  I met a man with seven wives;
  Every wife had seven sacks,
  Every sack had seven cats,
  Every cat had seven kits: 
  Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,
How many were there going to St. Ives?

* * * * *

As I was going up Pippen Hill,—­
  Pippen Hill was dirty,—­
There I met a pretty miss,
  And she dropped me a curtsy.

Little miss, pretty miss,
  Blessings light upon you;
If I had half-a-crown a day,
  I’d spend it all upon you.

* * * * *

A swarm of bees in May
Is worth a load of hay;
A swarm of bees in June
Is worth a silver spoon;
A swarm of bees in July
Is not worth a fly.

PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS.

As blind as a bat. 
As broad as it is long. 
As cross as two sticks. 
As dark as pitch. 
As dead as a door nail. 
As dead as a herring. 
As full as an egg is of meat. 
As hot as toast. 
As like as two peas. 
As merry as a cricket. 
As plain as the nose on a man’s face. 
As quiet as a mouse. 
As sharp as a razor. 
As straight as an arrow. 
As sweet as honey. 
As true as steel. 
As weak as water.