The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay With Illustrations by John Gilbert |
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| XII. |
IF FAIRY TALES WERE TRUE. |
 | The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay |  |
291
IF FAIRY TALES WERE TRUE.
I
If fairy tales were true,And fortune were my hap,
I'll tell you what I'd do—
If I had the wishing-cap:—
I'd make each maid a wife,
Who'd give both heart and hand;
And all domestic strife
I'd banish from the land.
II
No arm that wrought or plough'dShould ever toil in vain;
The great should not be proud,
The small should not complain.
The friendship of a friend
Should last through good and ill;
And, constant to the end,
Should guide the wand'rer still.
III
Each little child should readThe Book of life and light,
And every hostile creed
Should love and reunite.
The triumphs of our time
Should bless the poorest lot,
And misery and crime
Should die and be forgot.
292
IV
All rulers should be just,All people should be wise;
And swords and spears should rust
For lack of enemies:—
If fairy tales were true,
And fortune were my hap,
All this, and more, I'd do,
If I had the wishing-cap.
| The Collected Songs of Charles Mackay | |