 | Moral songs |  |
THE CHILD AND THE WIND.
“Father, father, are you listening,”
Said the shepherd's little child,
“To that wind so hoarse and hollow,
As it howls across the wild?
Said the shepherd's little child,
“To that wind so hoarse and hollow,
As it howls across the wild?
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“When I hear it in the chimneys,
When it sweeps along the ground,
'Tis to me, as if deep voices
Mingled strangely with the sound.
When it sweeps along the ground,
'Tis to me, as if deep voices
Mingled strangely with the sound.
“Now they louder swell and nearer,
Now they fall and die away,
Can you tell me, dearest father,
What it is the wild winds say?”
Now they fall and die away,
Can you tell me, dearest father,
What it is the wild winds say?”
“Nay, my child, they are not speaking,
Not a word the winds impart,
But each sound the Almighty sendeth,
Hath a message to the heart.
Not a word the winds impart,
But each sound the Almighty sendeth,
Hath a message to the heart.
“And that murmur deep and awful,
Couldst thou catch its voice aright,
It might whisper, ‘Child, be grateful,
Thou art safe at home to-night.’
Couldst thou catch its voice aright,
It might whisper, ‘Child, be grateful,
Thou art safe at home to-night.’
“While for thee the red fire burneth,
Sitting by thy father's knee,
Many laden ships are tossing,
Far away on the salt sea.
Sitting by thy father's knee,
Many laden ships are tossing,
Far away on the salt sea.
“Many mothers sitting watchful,
Count the storm-gusts one by one,
Weeping sorely as they tremble
For some distant sailor son.
Count the storm-gusts one by one,
Weeping sorely as they tremble
For some distant sailor son.
“They might tell of Him Who holdeth,
In the hollow of His hand,
Gentle breezes and rude tempests,
Coming all at His command.
In the hollow of His hand,
Gentle breezes and rude tempests,
Coming all at His command.
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“He provideth our home shelter,
He protecteth on the seas,—
When the wild winds seem to whisper,
Let them tell thee things like these.”
He protecteth on the seas,—
When the wild winds seem to whisper,
Let them tell thee things like these.”
Thus replied the shepherd father,
And the child with quiet mind,
Had a thought of God's great mercies,
As he listened to the wind.
And the child with quiet mind,
Had a thought of God's great mercies,
As he listened to the wind.
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