 | Berries & Blossoms |  |
101
MINE HOST OF “THE GOLDEN APPLE.”
A goodly Host one day was mine,
A Golden Apple his only sign,
That hung from a long branch, ripe and fine.
A Golden Apple his only sign,
That hung from a long branch, ripe and fine.
My Host was the bountiful Apple-tree;
He gave me shelter and nourish'd me
With the best of fare, all fresh and free.
He gave me shelter and nourish'd me
With the best of fare, all fresh and free.
And light-wing'd guests came, not a few,
To his leafy inn, and sipp'd the dew,
And sang their best songs ere they flew.
To his leafy inn, and sipp'd the dew,
And sang their best songs ere they flew.
102
I slept, at night, on a downy bed
Of moss, and my Host benignly spread
His own cool shadow over my head.
Of moss, and my Host benignly spread
His own cool shadow over my head.
When I ask'd what reckoning there might be,
He shook his broad boughs cheerily:—
A blessing be thine, green Apple-tree!
He shook his broad boughs cheerily:—
A blessing be thine, green Apple-tree!
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