 | Birds, Bees and Blossoms |  |
79
THE CRANE FLY.
Old Daddy-long-legs is known to you all;
You have oft seen him scrambling up window and wall,
Or making a handle of his leg in the candle,
And not seeming to mind it the least bit at all.
You have oft seen him scrambling up window and wall,
Or making a handle of his leg in the candle,
And not seeming to mind it the least bit at all.
You have seen his large family out on the grass,
Drawing in their long legs to let each other pass.
Knock-kneed and in-kneed; oh! such a strange breed;
You would laugh if you saw them stuck in a morass.
Drawing in their long legs to let each other pass.
Knock-kneed and in-kneed; oh! such a strange breed;
You would laugh if you saw them stuck in a morass.
If his two straggling legs, that hang out behind,
Were half an inch shorter, I don't think he'd mind;
For so far out they lay, they always seem in his way,
And he runs foul of everything that he can find.
Were half an inch shorter, I don't think he'd mind;
For so far out they lay, they always seem in his way,
And he runs foul of everything that he can find.
80
What a long way before him his horns do appear;
And as for his legs, they are far in the rear;
And you'll often find him looking behind him
To see if his legs are all right and still there.
And as for his legs, they are far in the rear;
And you'll often find him looking behind him
To see if his legs are all right and still there.
He thinks he was changed at a barber's one day,
Who stuck him hairs on for legs, and sent him away;
Says, he remembers before he walked well on the floor,
And a very good leg could at that time display.
Who stuck him hairs on for legs, and sent him away;
Says, he remembers before he walked well on the floor,
And a very good leg could at that time display.
He says he can't make any use of his horns;
Complains that he's terribly troubled with corns.
When he picks up his pins, he grazes his shins,
And he hasn't a leg but what round on him spins.
Complains that he's terribly troubled with corns.
When he picks up his pins, he grazes his shins,
And he hasn't a leg but what round on him spins.
Say to him, “Where are you?” he don't answer, “Here,”
But says, “Did you ask for my front or my rear?
My horns are out here, and my wings are out there,
And as for my legs, why, they've run off somewhere.”
But says, “Did you ask for my front or my rear?
My horns are out here, and my wings are out there,
And as for my legs, why, they've run off somewhere.”
When Daddy-long-legs near the candle you see,
Put him out of the window, and let him go free,
Or he'll burn his legs, sure as eggs are eggs,
Singe his wings, and scorch his sharp-pointed bodý.
Put him out of the window, and let him go free,
Or he'll burn his legs, sure as eggs are eggs,
Singe his wings, and scorch his sharp-pointed bodý.
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