Clara Doty Bates

“ THUMB
PAGE But the pig built a fire, high and hot,
And filled with water his dinner pot,
And just as the wolf came down the flue,
Scraping his ribs as he slipped through,
What did he do
But lift the cover, and let him fall
Into the pot—hide, hair and all!
And what next he did
Was to slide the lid
Quick over the pot; “It’s boiling hot—
It’ll maybe cook him, and maybe not,”
He cried in glee,
“But I’ll let him be,
And when it is dinner-time I’ll see!” ”

“ THUMB
PAGE
JOHN S. CROW.
All alone in the field
Stands John S. Crow;
And a curious sight is he,
With his head of tow,
And a hat pulled low
On a face that you never see.
KIN-FOLKS OF JOHN S. CROW. His clothes are ragged
And horrid and old,
The worst that ever were worn;
They’re covered with mold,
And in each fold
A terrible rent is torn.
They once were new
And spick and span,
As nice as clothes could be;
For though John hardly can
Be called a man,
They were made for men you see. ”

“ And Hop-o’-my-Thumb, whose influence in high places
Was certain to prevail,
Made the kind Ogress, who had hidden and fed them,
Duchess of Draggletail.
THUMB
PAGE
THE BABES IN THE WOOD.
Come, list to my story,
More sorry, by far,
To her who must tell it,
And you who will hear it,
Than all others are!
’Tis the darling of each, who
Has spirit so mild
As to grieve for the Human—
The sad man or woman,
Or desolate child! ”

“ With their silken dresses whisper, with laugh and song resound.
Up and down the oaken stairways flitted dainty-footed ladies,
Lighting up the shadowy twilight with the lustre of their bloom;
Like the varied sunlight streaming through an old cathedral window
Went their brightness glancing through the unaccustomed gloom,
But Blue-beard’s wife was restless, and a strong desire possessed her
Through it all to get a single peep at that forbidden room. ”

“ Meanwhile old Blue-beard down below was whetting up his cutlass,
And shouting: “Come down quick, or I’ll come after you, my lass!”
“One little minute more to pray, one minute more!” she pleaded—
To hope how slow the minutes are, to dread how swift they pass!
“Oh Anne, sister Anne, do you see anybody coming?”
She answered: “Yes I see a cloud of dust that moves this way.”
“Is it our brothers, Anne?” implored the lady. “No, my sister,
It is a flock of sheep.” Here Blue-beard thundered out: “I say,
Come down or I’ll come after you!” ”

“ And with one swoop of their good swords they cut off Blue-beard’s head!
Down fell his cruel arm, the heavy cutlass falling with it,
And, instead of its old, ugly blue, his beard was bloody red!
Of course, the tyrant dead, his wife had all his vast possessions;
She gave her sister Anne a dower to marry where she would;
The brothers were rewarded with commissions in the army;
And as for Blue-beard’s wife, she did exactly as she should,—
She wore no weeds, she shed no tears; but very shortly after
Married a man as fair to look at as his heart was good.
THUMB ”

“ So to the ox appealing:—
“Pray ox drink water, water won’t quench fire,
Fire won’t burn stick, stick won’t beat dog,
Dog won’t bite kid,
Kid won’t go!
And I see by the moonlight
’Tis already midnight,
And time kid and I were home
An hour and a half ago!”
But the ox bellowed “no!”
So she shouted to the butcher:—
“Pray butcher kill ox, ox won’t drink water,
Water won’t quench fire, fire won’t burn stick,
Stick won’t beat dog, dog won’t bite kid,
Kid won’t go! ”

“ But old Blue-beard himself who hadn’t been away a week!
He kissed his wife, and, after a brief pause, said, smiling blandly:
“I’d like my keys, my dear.” He saw a tear upon her cheek,
And guessed the truth. She gave him all but one. He scowled and grumbled:
“I want the key to the small room!” Poor thing, she could not speak!
He saw at once the stain it bore while she turned pale and paler,
“You’ve been where I forbade you! Now you shall go there to stay!
Prepare yourself to die at once!” he cried. ”

“ Hop-o’-my-Thumb had heard,
And at the thought of wolves and woods, in terror
His little heart was stirred;
And so he lay and planned; and early dressed him,
And ran with all his might
Down to the river, where he filled his pockets
With pebbles small and white.
And, as they started for the wood, he lingered
Somewhat behind, and when
They came to dismal places, dropped in secret
A pebble now and then.
Thick grew the trees; ’twas twilight in their shadows,
Although broad day without;
But gay the laddies at the fagot-picking
Went scampering about,
And chattering like a flock of busy sparrows ”

“ And the best she could do, poor little Bo-Peep!
Was to try to fasten them where they grew—
Or that was, at least, what she intended,—
But if she did it I never knew,
For now my story is ended!
THUMB
THUMB
PAGE
HOP-O-MY-THUMB.
Once on a time there was a fagot-maker,
And he had seven sons.
Who could be aught but poor to feed and shelter
So many little ones?
For all were merely lads; not one was able
To earn the crust of bread,
Though scant it might be, coarse and black and humble,
With which he must be fed. ”

“ THUMB
PAGE At last he spoke: “Ah, bad luck to the trying,
I cannot find them food!
To-morrow morning with me to the forest
I’ll take the little brood!
“I cannot bear to watch this piece meal starving,
So, while they run and play,
Or gather fagots for me, or pick berries
To eat, I’ll come away!”
“Oh!” groaned the wife, “I’m sure the wolves will eat them,
Poor dears—poor little dears!
Yet do as you think best—we all must perish!” ”

“ The day had grown so hot—
Close to a rock where lay the seven children,
Although he knew it not.
Hop-o’-my-thumb spoke softly to his brothers:
“Run! fast as ever you can,
And leave me to take care of Mr. Ogre.” ”

“ At little Hop-o’my-Thumb,
Saying the lads would make, towards a dinner,
Six mouthfuls and one crumb.
“O, leave them till to-morrow!” cried the woman;
“You’ve meat enough to-night.”
“Well, so I have,” he said, “I’ll wait a little.
Ah! ugh! they’re plump and white.” ”

“ Till, having hungry grown,
They turned to ask their mother for their dinner,
And found they were alone!
Then all but Hop-o’-my-Thumb wailed out affrighted.
“Don’t cry so hard!” said he.
“I’ll find the path, if you’ll but keep together
And try to follow me!” ”

“ THUMB
PAGE
They hurried near, and, pausing at the window,
Hop-o’my-Thumb climbed up,
And peeped within; his father and his mother
Were just about to sup.
Some one had paid them two gold guineas
On an old debt; and when
They went for beef for two, they were so hungry
They bought enough for ten.
Quick as a flash the ravenous seven went rushing
Pell-mell into the house,
Nor left, of the fine roast upon the table,
Enough to feed a mouse. ”

“ The one Uncle Phil used to wear.
The trousers are short;
They belonged to Bob
Before he had got his growth;
But John’s no snob,
And, unlike Bob,
Cuts his legs to the length of his cloth.
The boots are a mystery:
How and where
John got such a shabby lot,
Such a shocking pair,
I do declare
Though he may know, I do not.
But the hat that he wears
Is the worst of all;
I wonder that John keeps it on.
It once was tall,
But now it is small—
Like a closed accordeon.
THE FAITHFUL WATCHMAN, JOHN S. CROW.
THUMB
PAGE
But a steady old chap
Is John S. Crow,
And for months has stood at his post ”

“ But the careless little girl, Bo-Peep,
Was hunting for late wild strawberries,
The sweetest her tongue had ever tasted;
They were few in number, and small in size,
Too good, though, to be wasted.
And in that way the little Bo-Peep,
The first she knew, had lost her sheep!
To the top of the nearest knoll she ran,
The better to look the pasture over;
She shaded her face, and called, “Nan! Nan!”
But none of them could discover.
About and about went little Bo-Peep;
Her feet grew tired, the hills were steep ”

“ Hop-o’-my-Thumb, who heard again the plotting,
Crept from his trundle-bed,
But in the place of pebbles in his pockets
Put only crumbs of bread.
Again they went, through brier and through thicket,
Into the darksome wood ”

“ THUMB
PAGE
BLUE-BEARD.
Once on a time there was a man so hideous and ugly
That little children shrank and tried to hide when he appeared;
His eyes were fierce and prominent, his long hair stiff like bristles,
His stature was enormous, and he wore a long blue beard—
He took his name from that through all the country round about him,—
And whispered tales of dreadful deeds but helped to make him feared.
Yet he was rich, O! very rich ”

“ Flickering down from the fire-dogs tall,
Comes Uncle Phil, from his school and his books.
“Uncle Phil, I know by your smile-y looks—
You’ll let me—get on your knee—jus’ so—
An’ you’ll tell me somefing I want to know:
’Cos, you see, Uncle Phil, I’ve got to be told
Who she is—they call her
‘The Sa-archinkold.’”
Uncle Phil looks up;
Uncle Phil looks down;
And he wags his head;
And he tries to frown;
But at last he cries
In a great surprise:
“Why, yes! to be sure! to be sure, I’ll tell
For I know the old dame, of old, right well:
THUMB
PAGE
“Zh——zh!
Did you ever meet a
More dreadful creatur! ”

“ He hears the bells, he strikes his spurs,
The flecks of foam are on his rein,
The dust of journey whitens him,
He leans to see the bridal train!
Two-Shoes, Two-Shoes,
Lady Goody Two-Shoes!
Tom it is, come home once more!
Even now he’s at the door,
Rich and grand as any king—
Come to bless the wedding ring!
THUMB
PAGE
SAARCHINKOLD! SAARCHINKOLD! Nose to window,
Still as a mouse,
Watching grampa
“Bank the house.”
Out of the barrow he shovels the tan,
And he piles and packs it as hard as he can
“All about the house’s feet,”
Says “Phunny-kind,”
Nose to the window,
Eager and sweet. ”

“ But the child says:
“Grampa, is it the wind
That keeps you a-shakin’ an’ shakin’ so?”
Then the old man, shaking the more, says: “No!
But I’m bankin’ the house, Miss Locks-o-gold,
To keep out the dreadful—
Sa-archin’ Cold!”
And away he chuckles, barrow and all:
“’Mazin’ thing,” he says, “to be small!
Folks says the best things ’t ever they do
Afore they git old ’nough to know!” ”

“ They said: “To stay all night.”
“Run, run away! The faster you run the better!”
She answered in affright.
THUMB
PAGE “An Ogre lives here, cruel and bloody minded!
He eats up little boys!
Run, run! I hear him coming from the mountains,
I know him by the noise!”
“But we can’t run, we are so faint and tired!”
Hop-o’-my-Thumb began—
“’Tis all the same whether the wolves shall eat us,
Or your good gentleman.” ”

“ THUMB
PAGE
She says, “Is my bed got a fing like you said—
A ‘comfut’—vat I can put over my head?”
“ (Oh, Phil! naughty boy!) ” says grandma;—“yes, dear
Your bed’s got a ‘comfut,’ so never you fear—
And you should be in it, for see, the old clock
Points just to your bed-time, and says ‘tick-tock!’”
“Well, grampa, I’m goin’ as quick as I can,
If you’ll only give me a handful of ‘tan.’”
“What for?” ”

“ The butcher began to kill the ox,
The ox began to drink the water,
The water began to quench the fire,
The fire began to burn the stick,
The stick began to beat the dog,
The dog began to bite the kid,
And the kid began to go!
And home through the moonlight,
Long after midnight,
The little dame and little kid
Went trudging—oh, so slow!
THUMB
THUMB
PAGE
FOOLISH BOBOLINK. FOOLISH BOBOLINK. BY MRS. CLARA DOTY BATES. What a silly bobolink,
Down in the meadow grasses!
What can the noisy fellow think,
When, to everyone who passes,
He calls out cheerily,
“Here, here is my nest! See! see!” ”

“ And now that the hour was here to claim her,
Should eyes or tongue be dumb?
The Princess blushed at his royal wooing,
Bowed “yes” with her lovely head,
And the chaplain, yawning, but very lively,
Came in and they were wed!
But about the dress of the happy Princess,
I have my woman’s fears—
It must have grown somewhat old-fashioned
In the course of so many years!
THUMB
PAGE
JACK AND JILL.
Little boys, sit still—
Girls, too, if you will—
And let me tell you of Jack and Jill;
For I think another
Such sister and brother
Were never the children of one mother! ”

“ This text uses utf-8 (unicode) file encoding. If the apostrophes and quotation marks in this paragraph appear as garbage, make sure that the browser’s “character set” or “file encoding” is set to Unicode (UTF-8) . You may also need to change your browser’s default font.
A few typographical errors have been corrected. They have been marked in the text with mouse-hover popups. ”

“ And wherever she goes, you may know she means ’biz.
“Look sharp when she peeps through the crack o’ the door!
Look sharp when she hides away under the floor!
She’ll crack the bare ground with a terrible bang!
And out from the clap boards the nails will go, spang!
THUMB
PAGE “She’ll spoil the potatoes (if once she gets in) ,
And she’ll shake all the people whose bed-clothes are thin! ”

“ She plots, and she plans, she sneaks, and she crawls
Till she finds a way through the thickest of walls!”
THUMB
PAGE
“Oh—oo!” cries Phunny-kind, “how does she look?”
“To be sure! I’ll picture her just like a book.
—Her nose—is an icicle, sharp and strong, To poke in at every hole and crack ”

“ THUMB
THUMB
PAGE
ALADDIN.
I see a little group about my chair,
Lovers of stories all!
First, Saxon Edith, of the corn-silk hair,
Growing so strong and tall!
Then little brother, on whose sturdy face
Soft baby dimples fly,
As fear or pleasure give each other place
When wonders multiply ”