 | The Western home |  |
106
AN OLD STORY.
Says Tom to Jem, as forth they went
To walk one evening fine,
“I wish the sky a great green field,
And all that pasture mine.”
To walk one evening fine,
“I wish the sky a great green field,
And all that pasture mine.”
“And I,” says Jem, “wish yonder stars,
That there so idly shine,
Were every one a good fat ox,
And all those oxen mine.”
That there so idly shine,
Were every one a good fat ox,
And all those oxen mine.”
“Where would your herd of cattle graze?”
“Why, in your pasture fair.”
“They should not, that's a fact,” said Tom;
“They shall not, I declare!”
“Why, in your pasture fair.”
“They should not, that's a fact,” said Tom;
“They shall not, I declare!”
With that they frowned, and struck, and fought,
And fiercely stood at bay,
And for a foolish fancy cast
Their old regard away.
And fiercely stood at bay,
And for a foolish fancy cast
Their old regard away.
107
And many a war, on broader scale,
Hath stained the earth with gore,
For castles in the air, that fell
Before the strife was o'er.
Hath stained the earth with gore,
For castles in the air, that fell
Before the strife was o'er.
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