Pretty Lessons in Verse for Good Children; with Some Lessons in Latin, in Easy Rhyme. By Sara Coleridge. The Fourth Edition, with Many Cuts |
 |
BIRDS' FOOD. |
|
|
 | Pretty Lessons in Verse |  |
68
BIRDS' FOOD.
Long-legs, hasten away!
Cockchafers, leave your play!
The searching Rook for you doth look,
Throughout the livelong day.
Cockchafers, leave your play!
The searching Rook for you doth look,
Throughout the livelong day.
Snail with wreathed shell,
Slugs of grove and dell,
The parent Thrush on you will rush,
And bear you off to his cell.
Slugs of grove and dell,
The parent Thrush on you will rush,
And bear you off to his cell.
Beetles, take to your heels!
Hither the Night-jar steals,
And Moths doth seek, with gaping beak:
He's partial to evening meals.
Hither the Night-jar steals,
And Moths doth seek, with gaping beak:
He's partial to evening meals.
Flies, both great and small,
The Martlet quits the wall;
And Swift and Swallow will swiftly follow,
And they will swallow you all.
The Martlet quits the wall;
And Swift and Swallow will swiftly follow,
And they will swallow you all.
Worms, go under the earth;
Grubs, return to your berth;
The Lapwing will take you, and Robin will shake you:
The winter's his time of dearth.
Grubs, return to your berth;
The Lapwing will take you, and Robin will shake you:
The winter's his time of dearth.
69
Ants, in clustering hills,
Fear the Partridges' bills;
They hunt in the stubble, to work you trouble,
And each has a beak that kills.
Fear the Partridges' bills;
They hunt in the stubble, to work you trouble,
And each has a beak that kills.
Bees, take care of yourselves;
Tits are ravenous elves.
The bee-eating bird I lately heard,
Where into the bank she delves.
Tits are ravenous elves.
The bee-eating bird I lately heard,
Where into the bank she delves.
At sound of the Cuckoo's voice
No reptiles need rejoice;
Cuckoo! cuckoo! He's coming for you:
Of grubs he takes his choice.
No reptiles need rejoice;
Cuckoo! cuckoo! He's coming for you:
Of grubs he takes his choice.
Glow-worms, hide your light;
The warbling bird of night
On you will sup! He'll gobble you up;
You'd better not shine so bright.
The warbling bird of night
On you will sup! He'll gobble you up;
You'd better not shine so bright.
Spiders, scamper away;
Off with your eggs, I pray;
The Woodpecker's drumming—he soon will be coming:
He'll find where your nests you lay.
Off with your eggs, I pray;
The Woodpecker's drumming—he soon will be coming:
He'll find where your nests you lay.
Gnats that wheel and flit,
Beware of little Tomtit;
'Tis not for the fruit that Fly-catcher mute
On yonder bough doth sit.
Beware of little Tomtit;
'Tis not for the fruit that Fly-catcher mute
On yonder bough doth sit.
70
Dragon-flies brightly blue!
King-fisher hawks for you;
See, over the stream, like a rainbow gleam,
She's hovering now in view.
King-fisher hawks for you;
See, over the stream, like a rainbow gleam,
She's hovering now in view.
Creatures that live in the sludge,
Jack Snipe will poke and drudge;
The mire he'll rout, till he turns you out,
And who his fare would grudge?
Jack Snipe will poke and drudge;
The mire he'll rout, till he turns you out,
And who his fare would grudge?
Hop away croaking Frog,
The Bittern is come to the bog;
The Bittern that booms in the evening glooms,
As loud as the baying dog.
The Bittern is come to the bog;
The Bittern that booms in the evening glooms,
As loud as the baying dog.
Fish of river and lake,
The Heron comes out of the brake;
His neck's doubled back, but he means to attack!
He'll cause you to quail and quake.
The Heron comes out of the brake;
His neck's doubled back, but he means to attack!
He'll cause you to quail and quake.
Fish of sea and ocean,
The Osprey's loud commotion,
Her downward dash, and splutter and splash,
Must frighten you, I have a notion.
The Osprey's loud commotion,
Her downward dash, and splutter and splash,
Must frighten you, I have a notion.
| Pretty Lessons in Verse | |