No one at home in the hen-house, And no one at home in the barn, Old Brindle has gone to the neighbor's To borrow a skein of brown yarn, To borrow yarn for the darning Of socks for her wee spotted calf--

The little rollicking rascal Has never enough by half.

And Speckle is down by the willow Washing her chicks in the lake, While old Daddy c.o.c.kle is lying Abed with a bad toothache.

PATTERS AND TATTERS

Patters had a gallant band, An army made of clay.

But Tatters took the garden hose And washed them all away.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CROWN THE KING WITH CARROT TOPS

Crown the king with carrot tops, Dress him in sateen, Give him lots of licorice drops, With suckers in between.

For he's a king with lots of power And awful, awful fierce, He kills a pirate every hour And washes in his tears.

He rides a charger ten feet high, A dashing, dappled gray; Has ginger pop and lemon pie For breakfast every day.

So get a royal canopy, The finest ever seen, And whiskers for his majesty, And tresses for the queen.

THE CANADA GOOSE

A Canada goose On the South Palouse Is singing her summer song.

Her words are wise, And she greets the skies With a voice like a steamer gong: "If you harbor your wealth And keep your health, You'll always be rich and strong."

[Ill.u.s.tration]

HIPPERTY, CLICKERTY, CLACKERTY, BANG

Hipperty, clickerty, clackerty, bang, Get in a corner as fast as you can!

The sideboard is tipsy, the table is mad, The chairs have lost all the sense that they had.

So hipperty, clickerty, clackerty, bang, Get in a corner as fast as you can!

[Ill.u.s.tration]

SONNY

A sailor gave his sonny Nearly half a pint of money And sent him out to buy a ton of coal; But he met a poor old miser Who told him it were wiser To bury all his money in a hole.

A sailor gave his sonny Nearly half a pint of money And told him he should buy a suit of clothes; But he saw a pretty maiden With all kinds of posies laden, And he gave her all his money for a rose.

Then the sailor gave his sonny Nearly half a pint of money To buy a little garden and a house; But he found him the next day, In a shop on Yesler Way, A-buying cheese and crackers for a mouse.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HE GAVE HER ALL HIS MONEY FOR A ROSE]

THE STOVE

A stove is a thing that gets awfully hot, And fries up your meat, or whatever you've got.

It's made out of iron and hinges and screws, And filled up with shakers, and dampers, and flues.

It's not very long and it's not very wide; It's got black'ning on top and ashes inside.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

THE THUNDER BABY

Have you heard of the Thunder Baby Way up in the big blue sky?

You've seen his cradle, maybe, And maybe you've heard him cry.

Most of the time he's sleeping, Rolled up in a big white cloud, But when he's awake and hungry He bellows awfully loud.

And when he's crying, sometimes You can hear his teardrops fall With a patter, patter, patter, Against the garden wall.

But when he's madder'n mischief, He rolls, and growls, and spits, And kicks the clouds all forty ways, And gives the weather fits.

Then tears come down in bucketfuls, And children dance for joy, Till the sun comes out and soundly spanks Her Thunder Baby Boy.

[Ill.u.s.tration]