SUNSHINE.
Child.
Good-morning, merry sunshine!
How did you wake so soon ?
You've scared away the little stars
And hid the pretty moon.
I saw you go to sleep last night
Before I gave up playing:
How did you get back over here,
And where have you been staying ?
Sunshine.
I never go to sleep, dear child:
I just go round to see
My little children in the east,
Who rise and watch for me.
I waken all the birds, and bees,
And flowers on my way,
And, last of all, the little boy
Who stayed out late to play.

IF I WERE A GLOW-WORM BRIGHT.
If I were a glow-worm bright,
Shining in the leafy lane, I would show my tiny light
Till the daytime came again, And my little world would be Brighter just 
because of me.
If I were a little beam
Darting downwards from the sun, I would shine on field and stream
Till the day was nearly done, Dancing o'er the waters gay, Where the 
happy children play.
If I were a tiny star,
Twinkling in the heaven so high, I would throw my light afar,
Guiding all that wandered by, Till at length, when night was o'er, I 
should then be seen no more.

A MERRY RIDE.
Hurrah for a ride On a bonny, bonny horse! We will have a merry canter On 
our own gee-gee. He is true, he is tried,
Very willing, too, of course; Oh ! no pony can be better Than the old 
pine-tree.*
Jump up, do not mind; He will never run away; I will hold you safely, 
Jennie, If you sit by me. He is gentle, he is kind,
He will never, never stray; He's a very steady pony, Is the old pine-tree.

* Little children in England say, "the old oak-tree."

Come along, jump up, For he does not fear a load; He will carry all we wish him, Even one, two, 
three. Not a drink,
not a sup, Will he want upon the road; Then hip, hip, hurrah! we'll give him - Jolly old pine-tree.
-S. B., in the "Prince Edward Reader."

HOPING.
High up in the tree, by the old garden wall, Hung two rosy apples just 
ready to fall; Low down on the path, by the old
garden wall, Two dear little girls, neath the apple-tree tall.
And waiting, and waiting, they really must stop, Just hoping those two 
little apples will drop,
When suddenly out of the branches came pop! A dear little bird with a quick 
little hop.
He wisely cried out, and 'twas perfectly true,
"You must go to the apples; they won't come to you."
And then when he'd said it, he hopped, and he flew
To call on another small bird that he knew.

GOD SAVE THE KING.
God save our gracious King, Long live our noble King;
God save the King! Send him victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us;
God save the King!
Thy choicest gifts in store On him be pleased to pour;
 Long may he reign! May he defend our laws, And ever give us cause To sing with heart and voice,
God save the King!

QUEEN VICTORIA WHEN SHE ASCENDED THE THRONE.
QUEEN VICTORIA'S PROMISE.
Near London is a garden,
All fresh, and green, and cool,
Where little children run and laugh,
And swans swim in a pool.
The children feed the ducklings,
Birds sing, and all is gay,
 
Near to the fine old palace,
At the blooming of the may.*
Within that old red palace,
One morning long ago,
A maiden said her lessons,
And learned to read and sew –

* The flowers of the hawthorn; so called from their time of blossoming.

A stately little lady,
Blue-eyed, and fair to see;
With all her might and all her wits
She learned her history.
A princess must not dawdle,  'Tis hard to learn to rule,
And she must do her lessons
Like you who go to school.
She must obey her teachers
No better child was seen ;
-And when she ruled the country,
Was never better queen.
"See, Princess," said her tutor,
" The root from which you spring;
Show how the throne descended
To our present gracious King."
"My uncle has no children.
Who, when he comes to die,
Will then be King of England
O mother! is it I?
For I can find no other
That is so near in blood;
I am his brother's daughter,
But I never understood."
"My child," then said her mother,
" You are King William's heir;
You will be Queen of England - 
God keep you in His care! " 

* William IV, Queen Victoria's uncle.

And then the child's white forehead
Flushed with new thoughts and fears;
Her blue eyes shone with purpose,
Although they filled with tears.
"Mamma, what you have told me
Is a solemn thing to hear;
I'll try to do my duty,
But I am full of fear."
And well she kept her promise
Through all her length of life;
And all her subjects blessed her
Good mother, queen, and wife.
- C. J. Coleridge, in the "Highroads of History," published by Thomas Nelson and Sons.

KENSINGTON PALACE, WHERE QUEEN VICTORIA WAS BORN.

THE SWALLOWS.
The leaves are turning yellow, And cold the breezes blow;
The pretty swallows gather - Away they soon will go.
Are all your trunks packed neatly? You little swallows, say.
And is your lunch stored ready To eat upon the way ?
No trunks we need: our clothing We carry on our back;
We catch our food while flying, No luncheon need we pack.
Away, then, pretty swallows; To warmer countries go;
The soft, south wind will woo you To us next spring, we know.

MY NURSERY FRIENDS.
[This piece is suitable for a recitation at a school entertainment. The 
reciter should be seated in a chair near the front of the platform, and as the characters are mentioned they should enter and bow. 
When all the nursery characters are
on the platform, they might perform a dance, which could take place between 
the seventh and eighth verses. As indicated in the last verse the characters should disappear at the sound of a bell.]
While I was sitting in my house, As quiet as a sleeping mouse, I heard a 
knocking at the door, And in came visitors 
- a score.
I knew them all - old friends they were - They clambered up my wooden stair; I 
knew them when I was a boy; And, oh!
to see them gave me joy.
First came Jack Horner, who sat in a corner, With little Boy Blue, who blew 
on his horn; Then Margery Daw, who
slept upon straw, And Peter who picked a peppercorn.
Next Jack and Jill, who fell down the hill
Their noses were covered with plaster;
And little Miss Muffet, who sat on a tuffet,
And Jenny who found a new master.
Then little Tom Tucker, who sang for his supper,
Came in with Mary, who carried her lamb,
And the Queen of Hearts brought a basket of tarts
All nicely filled with strawberry jam.
Next came Humpty-Dumpty, who fell off a wall,
And Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie;
While Simple Simon, without the pieman,
Led in Bo-Peep with a tear in her eye.
But old King Cole, that merry old soul,
Soon called for Tom the Piper's son;
And he and Jack Sprat, who could eat no fat,
Made us laugh till we cried with their antics and fun.
But, just as all was going well,
I heard the tinkle of a bell.
Off ran my guests; I gave a scream,
And then I woke - it was a dream.
EDWARD SHIRLEY.
From "Little Poems for Little People," published by Thomas Nelson and Sons.

QUEER THINGS.
A clock can run, but cannot walk; My shoe has a tongue, but cannot talk; 
A comb has teeth, but has no mouth; A
north wind blows the smoke straight south.
Bottles have necks, but have no heads ; And pins have heads, but have no 
necks And needles have to hold their
threads Right in their eyes. How it must vex!

OUT OF DOORS.
The pleasantest place for a boy to be
Is out where the grass is growing;
As glad and free as a king is he,
Far up where the wind is blowing.
He's one with the bee and the butterfly,
The robin and he are brothers ;
His tent is the sky, so blue and high,
Swept clean of the dust that smothers.
The treasures he seeks are a wayside flower,
A whistle shaped from the willow,
The diamond shower, the gold of an hour,
And mosses and ferns for a pillow.
The lessons he learns are greater than books,
And truer than words of sages ;
He reads in the brooks and the violet nooks
The marvellous story of ages.
-Willis Warren Kent.

IT MUST HAVE BEEN A FANCY
"Ha! Mr. Bear, there's news to-day!"
The Tiger cried with joy;
"My hunter friend from far away
Has caught a common Boy.
He found him dawdling down a lane Too late for school, he knew,
So – come and see him, plain as plain: We've got him in the Zoo."
"Oh, Hippo!" laughed the Crocodile, " If you have time to spare,
I'll tell you what will make you smile - I learned it from the Bear.
The Tiger's friend from far away  (He's my acquaintance too)
Has caught a common Boy to-day, And put him in the Zoo!"
Then round the cage they danced with glee, A wild and noisy throng,
But as I was not there to see, I hoped the tale was wrong;
And by-and-by inquiry found, To my exceeding joy,
That nobody the whole world round Had missed a common Boy.
- John Lea, in the " Child's Own Magazine."

THE ARBOR-DAY TREE.
Little green tree, so slim and small, Standing under the schoolhouse wall, Planted there upon Arbor 
Day; Tell me,
what are you doing, say? So quiet you stand, and so still you keep, I really believe you have gone to 
sleep.
What do you think the tree replied?

When Baby to the farmyard goes, And toddles round upon her toes, The little chickens chirp and run To meet the
darling, every one. Says Yellow-bill to Fluffy-wing, "Chirp-chirp, I wonder what she'll bring!" You see, they know her
darling tricks - There's something coming for the chicks.

October brings the primrose sweet, Scatters daisies at our feet.

THE BUTTERFLY'S STORY. 
Child, - Painted Lady in the garden,
Painted Lady, tell me true,
Was it in the golden wattle
That your mother cradled you ?
Dew and honey did she give you
In an airy, leafy nest ?
In a home all green and golden
Did she rock you to your rest ?
Were her lovely wings around you
In the darkness of the night ?
Did she spread them for a shelter
When the sun was shining bright,
Till you grew as quick and fearless
And as beautiful as she
Grew the pretty Painted Lady
That she taught you well to be?
Painted Lady, light and lovely,
Friend of all the nodding flowers,
Make a friend of me and tell me
Where you spent the winter hours.
Oh, you flying velvet fairy
I can keep a secret well:
Have you got a home and babies ?
I will never, never tell.
Butterfly, - 
Little Ida of the garden,
Friend of all the flying folk.
Listen; I will tell you truly
How to life and joy I woke.
Since you came, a tiny baby,
But a single shape you wore
Just one tiny growing body:
Listen; I have lived in four!
 Never did my mother nurse me
 Never rocked me, never fed;
 But she placed me, Oh, so gently
 In a soft and leafy bed.
 I shall never see my children;
Safely in their eggs they'll lie
 God will gently rock and tend them,
 Gently 'neath the open sky.
Sweetly did the sun of autumn
Wake me on a happy day,
And I crept, a caterpillar,
From the egg wherein I lay
Where my careful mother left
it, Where I most would wish to be
On a bed of everlasting,
Food and shelter both for me.
THE EGG.
THE CATERPILLAR.
THE WINTER HOME.

And, as baby caterpillar,
Never did I fear the night.
Strong I grew, and played, and feasted
All the quiet autumn bright
Played among the everlasting,
Till the breezes coldly blew;
Then I built a house so cosy,
Where I hid the winter through.
Close it was, and dark, and quiet,
Hanging lightly, swinging free;
And I dreamed away the winter.
All the winds were good to me,
Sleeping like a fairy lady ;
And a fairy tale it seems,
How the velvet wing was growing.
Silent in my House of Dreams. 
At my door the sun was knocking,
And the dreaming-time was o'er;
Spring had come with song and gladness,
Earth her richest garments wore.
Then I broke the House of Dreaming,
Flew into the world of light
I, who slept a caterpillar,
Woke a Painted Lady bright.
Life, and light, and shining velvet;
Dew and honey for my food.
God the lonely babe had tended,
Guarded as a mother would.
Now you know my story, Ida,
And my life is all a joy,
Just as yours with   those who love you,
Bird and dolly, girl and boy.
Now we talk in green November,
Little Ida, you and I.
Look again the next November,
When another year's rolled by,
Flitting lightly 'midst the flowers,
There my daughter you will see,
Yet another Painted Lady
Love and guard her well for me.
--JESSIE MACKAY.


