Winifred Sackville Stoner

“ Now in our land we sing loud praise of Santa all the time,
And tell about his goodness great, in prose and jingling rhyme;
And yet it seems the more we sing about the jolly elf, The more he brings each year to us upon the mantel shelf.
But children in far Norway are better girls and boys
Than we who live in this fair land and think so much of toys
That we forget about the pets while feeding our own selves Like thoughtless, greedy little pigs or naughty selfish elves.
While Norway children in the fall they work to gather corn
And save it for the birds they feed on every Christmas morn ”

“ To treat their pets most kindly upon the Christmas morn
In memory of the Saviour who on this day was born.
And likewise all the horses, the cows and pigs and sheep,
For men so seldom think of them when Christmas time they keep;
And even wild, fierce animals, and fishes in the sea,
Should all be made quite happy at Christmas time to be.
"I do not like this plan at all of giving up my sled
And my good faithful reindeer," so good old Santa said.
But Mother Earth she laughed at him and said she would repay
The reindeer, whom she would send home straight to the Milky Way. ”

“ And fast the good Wright aeroplane it flew both low and high,
So Santa took the Earth's advice, and though he heaved a sigh,
He dropped the poor old worn out sled as he was passing by,
And people said, who saw it fall, "A METEOR FROM THE SKY!"
Then kissing each good reindeer, he bade them all farewell,
And left them in the MILKY WAY, forever there to dwell. ”

“ Is fairies' night when they receive
All their friends and all their slaves,
The goblins, witches, trollish knaves.
And if the olden tales be true,
All men and maids have cause to rue,
Who on this night dare go abroad
And touch a foot to fairy sod;
For naught will save them but to jump
Right o'er a fire or blazing stump.
But if you're brave and do not fear
That for your rashness you'll pay dear,
Then stand beneath an elder tree
And King of Fairies you may see. ”

“ Which love to haunt the kitchen of the cleanly Bridget Bryce.
While little Mikey loves dear Kent far more than all his toys,
And says he'd rather play with him than any girls or boys,
Because he never minds a bit to jump right in the pond
And bring to land a stick or stone or weeping willow wand.
He always acts politely to all who may come near,
And so all strangers pet him and think he is a dear.
They like his soft and silky hair, which proves he has good blood,
And never does he make folks mad by tracking floors with mud. ”

“ Eating like a greedy boy from off the kitchen shelf.
But mother couldn't scold aloud for fear the guest would hear,
And so she softly whispered, "Don't eat that way, my dear."
Then Mrs. Dean, the company, she patted Lillie's head,
And smiling at the jellied face, she to the culprit said,
"I've always liked the jelly good which makes my bread so sweet,
And surely it tastes better still when with a spoon we eat
This lovely, wobbling dainty, which is loved by one and all,
From little girls and tiny boys to great men, large and tall." ”

“ And for your Christmas presents
Oh, how I hope and pray
That Earth's five best good fairies
To you will come and stay."
"The first is GOOD HEALTH FAIRY,
Whose aid all mortals seek,
For he is life's elixir
And gives strength to the weak. ”

“ When Santa finished all his toys, he put them in a sack,
Where he intended carrying them upon his great broad back,
But Mother Earth surprised the saint and to his palace led
Eight lovely prancing reindeer and a large commodious sled.
These reindeer were the cousins of swift Pegasus, the steed
Who helped the hero Perseus when he was in great need;
And like the flying hero horse, they lived up in the sky,
'Till Mother Earth had need of them to help old Santa fly. ”

“ Yet none of these great terrors can make King Teddy shiver.
[3]
THE GROUCH-BUG
Of all the dreaded bugs and germs
That in this earth abound,
No bugs in greater number
Have ever yet been found,
Nor looked upon with terror more
By big folks and by small
Than GROUCH-BUGS, which are awful pests.
That come to one and all.
They make us, oh, so cranky
That we would like to yell,
And hunt up all the meanest things
About our friends to tell.
When other folks are smiling
The GROUCH-BUG'S victim cries,
While other folks are dancing
The GROUCH-SICK heave big sighs. ”

“ They have no arms or funny bones
That causes folks to let forth groans,
Their victuals they all swallow whole
And use a craw for a chopping bowl.
They have no hands, they have no wrists,
And without hands they can't make fists,
But for one thing they should rejoice
And cluck aloud with cheerful voice;
Not having hands, they have no nails,
Which are the cause of many wails,
For once a week we girls and boys
Must put aside our games and toys
And all our nice exciting tales,
While mother trims our finger nails. ”

“ For folks who get the GROUCHES
And other folks abuse,
Would be to give a ducking
With water freezing cold
So that they'd be so chilly
[5] They couldn't even scold.
But for the kiddies of my age
Who let this bad bug in,
He recommends the touching
Of peach limb to bare skin.
KIND HEARTS
There are no bigger hearts for their bodies
And no kinder hearts on this earth
Than the big juicy red hearts of melons,
To mortals fair jewels of worth.
The "King Water Melon," the big heart,
Of all earthly melons the best,
He clings to the earth, his good mother,
And never once leaves her warm breast. ”

“ Big Pat he gazed in wonder at the clever little dog,
And sitting down upon a large and green moss covered log,
Said, "Shure, ye bate this lazy hound that kennot catch a rat,
And if ye'll stay right here, me boy, I'll trate ye well," says Pat.
Then proudly Kent he wagged his tail and tried so hard to smile
Upon the good old Irishman, who patted him awhile,
Then coaxed the stranger after him right through a broad green lane,
Which led to the fine country home of good Sir Michael Kane. ”

“ Far, far among the icebergs, in the cold and freezing zone,
She built for him a palace, where he lives almost alone,
With only good old Mrs. Claus to keep him company,
[2] And sometimes Cousin Nicholas for two days or for three.
Wise Mother Earth she knew this clime would suit good Santa well,
For here no foolish, idle folks would ever come to dwell;
Nor pay the good Saint visits which would waste his precious time,
While he could work much faster here than in a warmer clime.
But never did he suffer from the icebergs at the Pole,
As fairies kept his fireplace all full of red-hot coal ”

“ Young Billy from his lovely home disappeared one day,
And when his mother missed her lad she thought he'd run away,
But soon the sprightly little chap came quickly running back,
Bearing on his shoulders small, a large round leather sack,
And said, "Dear mother, I have been a very good, kind boy,
Trying like the Bible says, to bring our neighbors joy.
I played I was a postman and I paid each one a call,
And to the people in this block, I gave them letters, all."
MOTHER: "But where, my precious little lad, my darling, honey pet,
Where in the name of goodness these letters did you get?" ”

“ A goat is stronger than a pig,
But often it is not as big.
It has four legs just like a horse,
But never runs on a race-course.
It gives good milk, though not as much
As cows and elephants and such,
But more than any bull or ox,
Rooster, ram, or sly old fox.
Like any mule, a goat likes hay
And all tin cans we throw away.
He's useful and I'm fond of him,
But some good folks have a strange whim
To hold their noses when he's near,
[8] And act as if they greatly fear
To touch his fur which has the smell
Of something I know very well,
The odor I'd know anywhere,
It's like Dad's tonic for his hair. ”

“ And loses her voice so she can't even scold?"
"No, darling," said mother, "your brother can't talk,
Eat sugar candy, nor even yet walk,
As he is a baby the size of your doll,
And babies can't talk when they are so small."
"Then, mother," said Lida, "the kids nowadays
Are not half so smart in all of their ways
As babies who lived in the long, long ago,
For dear teacher told me (so 'course it is so,)
That Job in the Bible cursed the day he was born,
I 'spose like big Tom, when he can't play his horn." ”

“ He always has a wagging tail,
KIND PICKLES.
His Master Shipp he'll never fail,
Staunch PICKLES.
And that is why all folks who meet
This clever dog in home or street
Declare there is no one so sweet
AS PICKLES.
[257]
PEACE FORERUNNER—"LOVE MANKIND."
Little birdie, whispering here,
Tell me, does sweet peace draw near?
Little girl, I sadly fear
Peace will not bring Christmas cheer
While you mortals are so blind
To love your country, not your kind,
Peace can never dwell on earth,
Bringing comfort, joy and mirth,
Until UNIVERSAL LOVE
Paves the way for sweet Peace Dove. ”

“ Nissen, The Santa Claus of Norway
[Nissen]
(The story told in this rhyme was sent to the author by her globe-trotting friend, Mrs. William Westcott, from Christiana, Norway.)
How glad I am that I was born in this land very dear,
Where children have a Santa Claus of whom they have no fear;
A Santa who is always kind, remembering one and all,
When every year at Christmas time, he pays us all a call. ”

“ He met a wise professor, who soon taught him to spell,
Likewise to read of fairy lore and use a real steel pen
To write to his own father dear, who like most all the men
Must ever stay at home and work to earn the cents to pay
For wife and children's outing till the summer slips away.
Now all the strange, uncommon words which little Bob could find,
He stored away and tried to keep in his small, active mind
So as to use in writing notes to his dear fat old Dad,
And when the big folks used strange words it made him very glad. ”

“ The Stuart line was ended with Anne, unhappy queen,
Then came four kings called Georges, with wits not very keen,
Hanover's line they founded, which line rules England now,
And to this line all Englishmen on loyal knee would bow.
And after all the Georges had had their rule and died,
Then William Fourth, the brother of George the Third, he tried
To rule o'er England's country with kind and steady hand,
But when his brother's daughter succeeded to this land
She made a better ruler than any queen or king
[121] And to VICTORIA, great VICTORIA, loudest praises ring. ”

“ The "Billy Possums" are in style for one and all,
We little girls, like older folks, are bound to keep in style,
And so we have to change our toys most every little while.
When Roosevelt or "Teddy," was ruler o'er this land,
All stylish girls and clever boys kept bears on hand
To play with and to walk with and to put to bed at night,
As "Teddy Bears" were symbols of the Rooseveltian light. ”

“ Rhyme and rhythm seem to furnish to the young mind an easy and effective method of relating and expressing facts ordinarily dissociated from anything of interest to a child. As long as such facts are presented to the young in home and school, the jingle will prove of service to teachers and parents, and of interest and value to children. In addition, some of these jingles will delight the young merely because of their rhythmical quality, while others will afford amusement because of the humorous interpretation they put on many of the events that are daily experienced by children everywhere. ”

“ For this one night in all the year,
They rule the earth and bring great fear
To all the naughty little boys
Who tease good girls and break their toys.
These spooks they also make girls sad
When they are selfish, cross and bad ”

“ There we'll see an Esquimau, Esquimau, Esquimau,
Sitting in his house of snow, in his house of snow.
And maybe a big polar bear, polar bear, polar bear,
With huge claws and long white hair, huge claws and white hair.
Walrus, reindeer, seal live there, seal live there, seal live there,
They think their land is wondrous fair, oh, so wondrous fair. ”

“ The Giant Arithmos This story was told to the author by her teacher, Mrs. A. R. Hornbrook, of the Hornbrook Correspondence School of Mathematics, 5622 Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Ill.
Great Jack-the-Giant-Killer brave, he killed all giants bad,
But one good giant's life was spared by this bold warrior lad.
ARITHMOS was this giant great, and all bright girls and boys
Should love the famous Giant-King far more than all their toys.
He's very old, and very great, and also wondrous wise,
For he can count all things on earth and even tell their size.
He knows how many birds there are ”

“ But in the Tower cold in death the poor young king was found.
'Tis said that he was murdered by one who then did rule
His uncle the third Richard, hump-backed and very cruel.
This wicked monster lost his life at Bosworth's bloody field,
Then came the Tudor family their scepters strong to wield.
Through Henry Seventh and his son King Henry Eighth, the bold,
Then Edward Sixth, the wise young king who ne'er grew to be old,
And monstrous blood-soaked Mary at whose dread bloody name,
All noble English subjects should feel a blush of shame ”

“ By naughty kids and grown up folks,
Who like to play most wicked jokes.
But good young girls and gentle boys,
The kids who are their mothers' joys,
They like the dark just as the light,
For spooks ne'er come within their sight,
And in their dreams the lovely elves Show them bright scenes from fairy delves. ”

“ In the greatest of terror he falls on his knees,
And quickly returns to his subterra home,
Resolving that he will not again roam
Till six stormy weeks have slowly gone by,
And then once again, perhaps he will try
To put his flat head above the cold ground,
And take a survey of the earth all around.
So I made up my mind that during the year
I'd keep him at home so he couldn't appear.
And to bring wintry weather he hadn't a chance,
For of his own shadow he caught not a glance.
[3]
ALL THE WORLD CRIES
"Quack-quack-quack-quack!" cries Auntie Duck,
While Mother Hen goes "Cluck-cluck-cluck!" ”

“ She ruled o'er England's empire for years full sixty-four,
And her great crown with queenly grace and kindliness she wore.
Her son, King Edward Seventh, the ever tactful king,
Ruled for a few short seasons until by Death's cruel sting
His happy reign was ended and George the Fifth, his heir,
Was made the kingly ruler of England's lands so fair.
BRUNETTES ALL THE RAGE
Great Byron sang of ladies fair
With bright blue eyes and golden hair;
But Major Woodruff says—;"Beware—;
Of those whose skin is very fair,
As naughty maidens have blue eyes
And seldom are they good and wise." ”