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VERSE AND PROSE
FOR
BEGINNERS IN READING
_SELECTED FROM ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE_
1893
PREFACE.
The attentive reader of this little book will be apt to notice very soon
that though its title is _Verse and Prose for Beginners in Reading_,
the verse occupies nine tenths, the prose being confined to about two
hundred proverbs and familiar sayings--some of them, indeed, in
rhyme--scattered in groups throughout the book. The reason for this will
be apparent as soon as one considers the end in view in the preparation
of this compilation.
The _Riverside Primer and Reader_, as stated in its Introduction, "is
designed to serve as the sole text-book in reading required by a pupil.
When he has mastered it he is ready to make the acquaintance of the
world's literature in the English tongue." In that book, therefore, the
pupil was led by easy exercises to an intelligent reading of pieces of
literature, both verse and prose, so that he might become in a slight
degree familiar with literature before he parted with his sole
text-book. But the largest space had, of necessity, to be given to
practice work, which led straight to literature, indeed, though to a
small quantity only. The verse offered in that book was drawn from
nursery rhymes and from a few of the great masters of poetical form; the
prose was furnished by a selection of proverbs, some of the simplest
folk stories, and two passages, closing the book, from the Old and New
Testaments.
The pupil, upon laying down his _Primer and Reader_ and proposing to
enter the promised land of literature, could find a volume of prose
consisting of _Fables and Folk Stories_, into the pleasures of which he
had already been initiated; but until now he could find no volume of
poetry especially prepared for him which should fulfill the promise of
the verse offered to him in his _Primer and Reader_. Be it remembered
that he was not so much to read verse written expressly for him, as to
overhear the great poets when they sang so simply, so directly, and yet
with so penetrating a note that the burden of their song, full, it may
be, to the child's elders, would have an awakening power for the child
himself. As so often said, a child can receive and delight in a poem
through the ear long before he is able to attain the same pleasure
through the eye; and there are many poems in such a book, for example,
as Miss Agnes Repplier's _A Book of Famous Verse_, wholly delightful for
a child to listen to which yet it would be impossible for him to read to
himself.
The agreeable task of the editor, therefore, was to search English and
American literature for those poems which had fallen from the lips of
poets with so sweet a cadence and in such simple notes that they would
offer but slight difficulties to a child who had mastered the rudiments
of reading. It was by no means necessary that such poems should have had
an audience of children in mind nor have taken childhood for a subject,
though it was natural that a few of the verses should prove to be
suggested by some aspect of child-life. The selection must be its own
advocate, but it may be worth while to point out that the plan of the
book supposes an easy approach to the more serious poems by means of the
light ditties of the nursery; that there is no more reason for depriving
a child of honest fun in his verse than there is for condemning the
child's elders to grave poetry exclusively; and that it is not necessary
or even desirable for a poem to come at once within the reader's
comprehension. To take an extreme case, Tennyson's lines "Break, Break,
Break!" would no doubt be ruled out of such a book as this by many in
sympathy with children; yet the unexplainable power of the poem is not
beyond the apprehension of sensitive natures at an early age.
The contents have been gleaned from a number of sources, and the editor
is glad to mingle with the names of the secure dwellers on Parnassus
those of some living Americans and Englishmen. He does not pretend that
he has made an exhaustive collection, but he hopes the book may be
regarded as the nucleus for an anthology which cannot, in the nature of
things, be very large.
The prose, as already intimated, is confined to groups of proverbs and
familiar sayings. In one aspect these single lines of prose present
difficulties to the young reader: they are condensed forms of
expression, even though the words may be simple; but they offer the
convenient small change of intellectual currency which it is well for
one to be supplied with at an early stage of one's journey, and they
afford to the teacher a capital opportunity for conversational and other
exercises.
The order of this book is in a general way from the easy to the more
difficult, with an attempt, also, at an agreeable variety. The editor
has purposely avoided breaking up the book into lesson portions or
giving it the air of a text-book. There is no reason why children should
not read books as older people read them, for pleasure, and dissociate
them from a too persistent notion of tasks. It is entirely possible that
some teachers may find it out of the question to lead their classes
straight through this book, but there is nothing to forbid them from
judicious skipping, or, what is perhaps more to the point, from helping
pupils over a difficult word or phrase when it is encountered; the
interest which the child takes will carry him over most hard places. It
would be a capital use of the book also if teachers were to draw upon it
for poems which their pupils should, in the suggestive phrase, learn by
heart. To this purpose the contents are singularly well adapted; for,
from the single line proverb to a poem by Wordsworth, there is
such a wide range of choice that the teacher need not resort to the
questionable device of giving children fragments and bits of verse and
prose to commit to memory. One of the greatest services we can do the
young mind is to accustom it to the perception of _wholes_, and whether
this whole be a lyric or a narrative poem like Evangeline, it is almost
equally important that the young reader should learn to hold it as such
in his mind. To treat a poem as a mere quarry out of which a
particularly smooth stone can be chipped is to misinterpret poetry. A
poem is a statue, not a quarry.
H.E.S.
BOSTON, _October_, 1893.
CONTENTS.
ALPHABET _Mother Goose_
A DEWDROP _Frank Dempster Sherman_
BEES _Frank Dempster Sherman_
RHYMES.
Baa, baa, black sheep
Bless you, bless you, burnie bee
Bow, wow, wow
Bye, baby bunting _Mother Goose_
STAR LIGHT _Unknown_
THE LITTLE MOON _A.B. White_
TO A HONEY-BEE _Alice Gary_
RHYMES.
A cat came fiddling
A dillar, a dollar
As I was going to St. Ives
As I was going up Pippen Hill
A swarm of bees in May _Mother Goose_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
NONSENSE ALPHABET _Edward Lear_
THE EGG IN THE NEST _Unknown_
RHYMES
Hey! diddle diddle
Pussy sits beside the fire
Ding dong bell _Mother Goose_
DAISIES _Frank Dempster Sherman_
SPINNING TOP _Frank Dempster Sherman_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
RHYMES.
Bobby Shafto's gone to sea
Every lady in this land
Great A, little a
Hark, hark
Sing a song of sixpence
Hickory, dickory dock
Hot-cross buns!
How does my lady's garden grow?
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Hush-a-bye, baby, on the tree-top
Some little mice sat in a barn to spin
If all the world were apple-pie
If wishes were horses
I have a little sister _Mother Goose_
WHO STOLE THE BIRD'S NEST? _Lydia Maria Child_
RHYMES.
I saw a ship a-sailing
Jack and Jill went up the hill
Little Bo-peep
Little boy blue
Little girl, little girl
Little Jack Horner sat in the corner
Little Johnny Pringle had a little pig
Little Miss Muffet
There was a little man
Little Tommy Tacker _Mother Goose_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
HAPPY THOUGHT _Robert Louis Stevenson_
THE SUN'S TRAVELS _Robert Louis Stevenson_
MY BED IS A BOAT _Robert Louis Stevenson_
THE SWING _Robert Louis Stevenson_
RHYMES
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Mistress Mary, quite contrary
Old King Cole
Old Mother Hubbard _Mother Goose_
RUNAWAY BROOK _Eliza Lee Fallen_
BED IN SUMMER _Robert Louis Stevenson_
AT THE SEASIDE _Robert Louis Stevenson_
THE MEETING OF THE SHIPS _Thomas Moore_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
Three little kittens
Once I saw a little bird
One misty, moisty morning
Peter Piper
Ride a cock-horse to Banbury-cross
Three wise men of Gotham
See, saw, sacradown
Simple Simon met a pieman _Mother Goose_
PRETTY COW _Jane Taylor_
THE STAR _Jane Taylor_
MARY'S LAMB _Sara Josepha Hale_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
RHYMES
Solomon Grundy
The King of France
The man in the wilderness
There was a crooked man
Tom, Tom, the piper's son
There was a little boy
There was a man of our town
This pig went to market
Tom, Tom, of Islington _Mother Goose_
WEE WILLIE WINKIE _William Miller_
SINGING _Robert Louis Stevenson_
THE COW _Robert Louis Stevenson_
GOOD-NIGHT AND GOOD-MORNING _Richard Monckton Milnes_
MOTHER'S EYES _Mary D.B.Hull_
THE LAND OF NOD _Robert Louis Stevenson_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
RHYMES
When I was a little boy
Where are you going, my pretty maid?
Who killed Cock Robin _Mother Goose_
EPITAPH FOR ROBIN REDBREAST _Edith Matilda Thomas_
PLAY WITH ME _Edith Matilda Thomas_
THE PIPER _William Blake_
INFANT JOY _William Blake_
THE LAMB _William Blake_
THE LITTLE BOY LOST _William Blake_
THE LITTLE BOY FOUND _William Blake_
ON THE VOWELS _Jonathan Swift_
LETTERS _Ralph Waldo Emerson_
ON A CIRCLE _Jonathan Swift_
ARIEL'S SONG _William Shakespeare_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
SONG _Thomas Hood_
YOUTH AND AGE _Thomas Hood_
UPON SUSANNA'S FEET _Robert Herrick_
UPON A CHILD THAT DIED _Robert Herrick_
CHERRY-RIPE _Robert Herrick_
ANSWER TO A CHILD'S QUESTION _Samuel Taylor Coleridge_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
"ONE, TWO, THREE!" _Henry Cuyler Bunner_
THE BIRD AND ITS NEST _Alfred Tennyson_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
WINDY NIGHTS _Robert Louis Stevenson_
NONSENSE VERSES _Edward Lear_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
SONG _Robert Burns_
SWEET AND LOW _Alfred Tennyson_
AGAINST IDLENESS AND MISCHIEF _Isaac Watts_
"BREAK, BREAK, BREAK" _Alfred Tennyson_
THE ARROW AND THE SONG _Henry Wadsworth Longfellow_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
THE TABLE AND THE CHAIR _Edward Lear_
THE OWL _Alfred Tennyson_
THE OWL AND THE PUSSY-CAT _Edward Lear_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
FABLE _Ralph Waldo Emerson_
WRITTEN IN MARCH _William Wordsworth_
THOSE EVENING BELLS _Thomas Moore_
TO A BUTTERFLY _William Wordsworth_
PROVERBS AND POPULAR SAYINGS
LUCY _William Wordsworth_
LUCY GRAY, OR SOLITUDE _William Wordsworth_
POOR SUSAN _William Wordsworth_
VERSE AND PROSE FOR BEGINNERS IN READING.
ALPHABET.
A was an apple-pie;
B bit it;
C cut it;
D dealt it;
E ate it;
F fought for it;
G got it;
H had it;
J joined it;
K kept it;
L longed for it:
M mourned for it;
N nodded at it;
O opened it;
P peeped into it;
Q quartered it;
R ran for it;
S stole it;
T took it;
V viewed it;
W wanted it;
X, Y, Z, and amperse-and,
All wished for a piece in hand.
A DEWDROP.
Little drop of dew,
Like a gem you are;
I believe that you
Must have been a star.
When the day is bright,
On the grass you lie;
Tell me then, at night
Are you in the sky?
BEES.
Bees don't care about the snow;
I can tell you why that's so:
Once I caught a little bee
Who was much too warm for me!
* * * * *
Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, marry, have I,
Three bags full;
One for my master,
And one for my dame,
But none for the little boy
Who cries in the lane.
* * * * *
Bless you, bless you, burnie bee;
Say, when will your wedding be?
If it be to-morrow day,
Take your wings and fly away.
* * * * *
Bow, wow, wow,
Whose dog art thou?
Little Tom Tinker's dog,
Bow, wow, wow.
* * * * *
Bye, baby bunting,
Daddy's gone a-hunting,
To get a little rabbit skin
To wrap the baby bunting in.
* * * * *
Star light, star bright,
First star I see to-night;
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish to-night.
* * * * *
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.
NONSENSE ALPHABET.
A was an ant
Who seldom stood still,
And who made a nice house
In the side of a hill.
Nice little ant!
B was a bat,
Who slept all the day,
And fluttered about
When the sun went away.
Brown little bat!
C was a camel:
You rode on his hump;
And if you fell off,
You came down such a bump!
What a high camel!
D was a duck
With spots on his back,
Who lived in the water,
And always said "Quack!"
Dear little duck!
E was an elephant,
Stately and wise:
He had tusks and a trunk,
And two queer little eyes.
Oh, what funny small eyes!
F was a fish
Who was caught in a net;
But he got out again,
And is quite alive yet.
Lively young fish!
G was a goat
Who was spotted with brown:
When he did not lie still
He walked up and down.
Good little goat!
H was a hat
Which was all on one side;
Its crown was too high,
And its brim was too wide.
Oh, what a hat!
I was some ice
So white and so nice,
But which nobody tasted;
And so it was wasted.
All that good ice!
J was a jug,
So pretty and white,
With fresh water in it
At morning and night.
Nice little jug!
K was a kite
Which flew out of sight,
Above houses so high,
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