Then he flew to the mountain and powdered its crest;
    He lit on the trees, and their boughs he dressed
    In diamond beads—­and over the breast
      Of the quivering lake he spread
    A coat of mail, that it need not fear
    The downward point of many a spear
    That hung on its margin far and near,
      Where a rock could rear its head.

    He went to the windows of those who slept,
    And over each pane, like a fairy, crept;
    Wherever he breathed, wherever he slept,
      By the light of the moon were seen
    Most beautiful things—­there were flowers and trees;
    There were bevies of birds and swarms of bees;
    There were cities with temples and towers, and these
      All pictured in silver sheen!

    But he did one thing that was hardly fair;
    He peeped in the cupboard, and finding there
    That all had forgotten for him to prepare—­
     “Now just to set them a-thinking,
    I’ll bite this basket of fruit,” said he,
   “This costly pitcher I’ll burst in three,
    And the glass of water they’ve left for me
      Shall ‘tchich!’ to tell them I’m drinking.”

HANNAH FLAGG GOULD.

 THE OWL.

    When cats run home and light is come,
      And dew is cold upon the ground,
    And the far-off stream is dumb,
      And the whirring sail goes round,
      And the whirring sail goes round;
        Alone and warming his five wits,
        The white owl in the belfry sits.

    When merry milkmaids click the latch,
      And rarely smells the new-mown hay,
    And the cock hath sung beneath the thatch
      Twice or thrice his roundelay,
      Twice or thrice his roundelay;
        Alone and warming his five wits,
        The white owl in the belfry sits.

ALFRED TENNYSON.

 LITTLE BILLEE.

“Little Billee,” by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-63), finds a place here because it carries a good lesson good-naturedly rendered.  An accomplished teacher recommends it, and I recollect two young children in Chicago who sang it frequently for years without getting tired of it.

    There were three sailors of Bristol city
      Who took a boat and went to sea. 
    But first with beef and captain’s biscuits
      And pickled pork they loaded she.

    There was gorging Jack and guzzling Jimmy,
      And the youngest he was little Billee. 
    Now when they got so far as the Equator
      They’d nothing left but one split pea.

    Says gorging Jack to guzzling Jimmy,
     “I am extremely hungaree.” 
    To gorging Jack says guzzling Jimmy,
     “We’ve nothing left, us must eat we.”

    Says gorging Jack to guzzling Jimmy,
     “With one another, we shouldn’t agree! 
    There’s little Bill, he’s young and tender,
      We’re old and tough, so let’s eat he.”