XVI
The Land of Counterpane When Iwas sick and lay a-bed,Ihad two pillows at my head,And all my toys beside me lay,To keep me happy all the day.
And sometimes for an hour or so Iwatched my leaden soldiers go,With different uniforms and drills,Among the bed-clothes,through the hills;
And sometimes sent my ships in fleets All up and down among the sheets;
Or brought my trees and houses out,And planted cities all about.
Iwas the giant great and still That sits upon the pillow-hill,And sees before him,dale and plain,The pleasant land of counterpane.
XVII
The Land of Nod From breakfast on through all the day At home among my friends Istay,But every night Igo abroad Afar into the land of Nod.
All by myself Ihave to go,With none to tell me what to do——
All alone beside the streams And up the mountain-sides of dreams.
The strangest things are these for me,Both things to eat and things to see,And many frightening sights abroad Till morning in the land of Nod.
Try as Ilike to find the way,Inever can get back by day,Nor can remember plain and clear The curious music that Ihear.
XVIII
My Shadow Ihave a little shadow that goes in and out with me,And what can be the use of him is more than Ican see.
He is very,very like me from the heels up to the head;
And Isee him jump before me,when Ijump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow——
Not at all like proper children,which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all.
He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me,he's a coward you can see;
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
One morning,very early,before the sun was up,Irose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow,like an arrant sleepy-head,Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.
XIX
System Every night my prayers Isay,And get my dinner every day;
And every day that I've been good,Iget an orange after food.
The child that is not clean and neat,With lots of toys and things to eat,He is a naughty child,I'm sure——
Or else his dear papa is poor.
XX
AGood Boy Iwoke before the morning,Iwas happy all the day,Inever said an ugly word,but smiled and stuck to play.
And now at last the sun is going down behind the wood,And Iam very happy,for Iknow that I've been good.
My bed is waiting cool and fresh,with linen smooth and fair,And Imust be off to sleepsin-by,and not forget my prayer.
Iknow that,till to-morrow Ishall see the sun arise,No ugly dream shall fright my mind,no ugly sight my eyes.
But slumber hold me tightly till Iwaken in the dawn,And hear the thrushes singing in the lilacs round the lawn.
XXI
Escape at Bedtime The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone out Through the blinds and the windows and bars;
And high overhead and all moving about,There were thousands of millions of stars.
There ne'er were such thousands of leaves on a tree,Nor of people in church or the Park,As the crowds of the stars that looked down upon me,And that glittered and winked in the dark.
The Dog,and the Plough,and the Hunter,and all,And the star of the sailor,and Mars,These shown in the sky,and the pail by the wall Would be half full of water and stars.
They saw me at last,and they chased me with cries,And they soon had me packed into bed;
But the glory kept shining and bright in my eyes,And the stars going round in my head.
XXII
Marching Song Bring the comb and play upon it!
Marching,here we come!
Willie cocks his highland bonnet,Johnnie beats the drum.
Mary Jane commands the party,Peter leads the rear;
Feet in time,alert and hearty,Each a Grenadier!
All in the most martial manner Marching double-quick;
While the napkin,like a banner,Waves upon the stick!
Here's enough of fame and pillage,Great commander Jane!
Now that we've been round the village,Let's go home again.
XXIII
The Cow The friendly cow all red and white,Ilove with all my heart:
She gives me cream with all her might,To eat with apple-tart.
She wanders lowing here and there,And yet she cannot stray,All in the pleasant open air,The pleasant light of day;
And blown by all the winds that pass And wet with all the showers,She walks among the meadow grass And eats the meadow flowers.
XXIV
Happy Thought The world is so full of a number of things,I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.
XXV
The Wind Isaw you toss the kites on high And blow the birds about the sky;
And all around Iheard you pass,Like ladies'skirts across the grass——
Owind,a-blowing all day long,Owind,that sings so loud a song!
Isaw the different things you did,But always you yourself you hid.
Ifelt you push,Iheard you call,Icould not see yourself at all——
Owind,a-blowing all day long,Owind,that sings so loud a song!
Oyou that are so strong and cold,Oblower,are you young or old?
Are you a beast of field and tree,Or just a stronger child than me?
Owind,a-blowing all day long,Owind,that sings so loud a song!
XXVI
Keepsake Mill Over the borders,a sin without pardon,Breaking the branches and crawling below,Out through the breach in the wall of the garden,Down by the banks of the river we go.
Here is a mill with the humming of thunder,Here is the weir with the wonder of foam,Here is the sluice with the race running under——
Marvellous places,though handy to home!
Sounds of the village grow stiller and stiller,Stiller the note of the birds on the hill;
Dusty and dim are the eyes of the miller,Deaf are his ears with the moil of the mill.
Years may go by,and the wheel in the river Wheel as it wheels for us,children,to-day,Wheel and keep roaring and foaming for ever Long after all of the boys are away.
Home for the Indies and home from the ocean,Heroes and soldiers we all will come home;
Still we shall find the old mill wheel in motion,Turning and churning that river to foam.
You with the bean that Igave when we quarrelled,Iwith your marble of Saturday last,Honoured and old and all gaily apparelled,Here we shall meet and remember the past.
