IF A PIG WORE A WIG
If a pig wore a wig,
What could we say?
Treat him as a gentleman,
And say “Good day.”
If his tail chanced to fail,
What could we do? —
Send him to the tailoress
To get one new.
SELDOM “CAN’T,”
Seldom “can’t,”
Seldom “don’t”;
Never “shan’t,”
Never “won’t.”
1 AND 1 ARE 2
1 and 1 are 2 —
That’s for me and you.
2 and 2 are 4 —
That’s a couple more.
3 and 3 are 6
Barley-sugar sticks.
4 and 4 are 8
Tumblers at the gate.
5 and 5 are 10
Bluff seafaring men.
6 and 6 are 12
Garden lads who delve.
7 and 7 are 14
Young men bent on sporting.
8 and 8 are 16
Pills the doctor’s mixing.
9 and 9 are 18
Passengers kept waiting.
10 and 10 are 20
Roses — pleasant plenty!
11 and 11 are 22
Sums for brother George to do.
12 and 12 are 24
Pretty pictures, and no more.
HOW MANY SECONDS IN A MINUTE?
How many seconds in a minute?
Sixty, and no more in it.
How many minutes in an hour?
Sixty for sun and shower.
How many hours in a day?
Twenty-four for work and play.
How many days in a week?
Seven both to hear and speak.
How many weeks in a month?
Four, as the swift moon runn’th.
How many months in a year?
Twelve the almanack makes clear.
How many years in an age?
One hundred says the sage.
How many ages in time?
No one knows the rhyme.
WHAT WILL YOU GIVE ME FOR MY POUND?
What will you give me for my pound?
Full twenty shillings round.
What will you give me for my shilling?
Twelve pence to give I’m willing.
What will you give me for my penny?
Four farthings, just so many.
JANUARY COLD DESOLATE
January cold desolate;
February all dripping wet;
March wind ranges;
April changes;
Birds sing in tune
To flowers of May,
And sunny June
Brings longest day;
In scorched July
The storm-clouds fly
Lightning-torn;
August bears corn,
September fruit;
In rough October
Earth must disrobe her;
Stars fall and shoot
In keen November;
And night is long
And cold is strong
In bleak December.
WHAT IS PINK? A ROSE IS PINK
What is pink? a rose is pink
By the fountain’s brink.
What is red? a poppy’s red
In its barley bed.
What is blue? the sky is blue
Where the clouds float thro’.
What is white? a swan is white
Sailing in the light.
What is yellow? pears are yellow,
Rich and ripe and mellow.
What is green? the grass is green,
With small flowers between.
What is violet? clouds are violet
In the summer twilight.
What is orange? why, an orange,
Just an orange!
MOTHER SHAKE THE CHERRY-TREE
Mother shake the cherry-tree,
Susan catch a cherry;
Oh how funny that will be,
Let’s be merry!
One for brother, one for sister,
Two for mother more,
Six for father, hot and tired,
Knocking at the door.
A PIN HAS A HEAD, BUT HAS NO HAIR
A pin has a head, but has no hair;
A clock has a face, but no mouth there;
Needles have eyes, but they cannot see;
A fly has a trunk without lock or key;
A timepiece may lose, but cannot win;
A corn-field dimples without a chin;
A hill has no leg, but has a foot;
A wine-glass a stem, but not a root;
A watch has hands, but no thumb or finger;
A boot has a tongue, but is no singer;
Rivers run, though they have no feet;
A saw has teeth, but it does not eat;
Ash-trees have keys, yet never a lock;
And baby crows, without being a cock.
HOPPING FROG, HOP HERE AND BE SEEN
Hopping frog, hop here and be seen,
I’ll not pelt you with stick or stone:
Your cap is laced and your coat is green;
Good bye, we’ll let each other alone.
Plodding toad, plod here and be looked at,
You the finger of scorn is crooked at:
But though you’re lumpish, you’re harmless too;
You won’t hurt me, and I won’t hurt you.
WHERE INNOCENT BRIGHT-EYED DAISIES ARE
Where innocent bright-eyed daisies are,
With blades of grass between,
Each daisy stands up like a star
Out of a sky of green.
THE CITY MOUSE LIVES IN A HOUSE
The city mouse lives in a house; —
The garden mouse lives in a bower,
He’s friendly with the frogs and toads,
And sees the pretty plants in flower.
The city mouse eats bread and cheese; —
The garden mouse eats what he can;
We will not grudge him seeds and stalks,
Poor little timid furry man.
WHAT DOES THE DONKEY BRAY ABOUT
What does the donkey bray about?
What does the pig grunt through his snout?
What does the goose mean by a hiss?
Oh, Nurse, if you can tell me this,
I’ll give you such a kiss.
The cockatoo calls “cockatoo,”
The magpie chatters “how d’ye do?”
The jackdaw bids me “go away,”
Cuckoo cries “cuckoo” half the day:
What do the others say?
THREE PLUM BUNS
Three plum buns
To eat here at the stile
In the clover meadow,
For we have walked a mile.
One for you, and one for me,
And one left over:
Give it to the boy who shouts
To scare sheep from the clover.
A MOTHERLESS SOFT LAMBKIN
A motherless soft lambkin
Along upon a hill;
No mother’s fleece to shelter him
And wrap him from the cold: —
I’ll run to him and comfort him,
I’ll fetch him, that I will;
I’ll care for him and feed him
Until he’s strong and bold.
DANCING ON THE HILL-TOPS
Dancing on the hill-tops,
Singing in the valleys,
Laughing with the echoes,
Merry little Alice.
Playing games with lambkins
In the flowering valleys,
Gathering pretty posies,
Helpful little Alice.
If her father’s cottage
Turned into a palace,
And he owned the hill-tops
And the flowering valleys,
She’d be none the happier,
Happy little Alice.
WHEN FISHES SET UMBRELLAS UP
When fishes set umbrellas up
If the rain-drops run,
Lizards will want their parasols
To shade them from the sun.
THE PEACOCK HAS A SCORE OF EYES
The peacock has a score of eyes,
With which he cannot see;
The cod-fish has a silent sound,
However that may be;
No dandelions tell the time,
Although they turn to clocks;
Cat’s-cradle does not hold the cat,
Nor foxglove fit the fox.
PUSSY HAS A WHISKERED FACE
Pussy has a whiskered face,
Kitty has such pretty ways;
Doggie scampers when I call,
And has a heart to love us all.
THE DOG LIES IN HIS KENNEL
The dog lies in his kennel,
And Puss purrs on the rug,
And baby perches on my knee
For me to love and hug.
Pat the dog and stroke the cat,
Each in its degree;
And cuddle and kiss my baby,
And baby kiss me.
IF HOPE GREW ON A BUSH
If hope grew on a bush,
And joy grew on a tree,
What a nosegay for the plucking
There would be!
But oh! in windy autumn,
When frail flowers wither,
What should we do for hope and joy,
Fading together?
I PLANTED A HAND
I planted a hand
And there came up a palm,
I planted a heart
And there came up balm.
Then I planted a wish,
But there sprang a thorn,
While heaven frowned with thunder
And earth sighed forlorn.
UNDER THE IVY BUSH
Under the ivy bush
One sits sighing,
And under the willow tree
One sits crying: —
Under the ivy bush
Cease from your sighing,
But under the willow-tree
Lie down a-dying.
THERE IS ONE THAT HAS A HEAD WITHOUT AN EYE
There is one that has a head without an eye,
And there’s one that has an eye without a head:
You may find the answer if you try;
And when all is said,
Half the answer hangs upon a thread!
IF A MOUSE COULD FLY
If a mouse could fly,
Or if a crow could swim,
Or if a sprat could walk and talk,
I’d like to be like him.
If a mouse could fly,
He might fly away;
Or if a crow could swim,
It might turn him grey;
Or if a sprat could walk and talk,
What would he find to say?
SING ME A SONG
Sing me a song —
What shall I sing? —
Three merry sisters
Dancing in a ring,
Light and fleet upon their feet
As birds upon the wing.
Tell me a tale —
What shall I tell?
Two mournful sisters,
And a tolling knell,
Tolling ding and tolling dong,
Ding dong bell.
THE LILY HAS AN AIR
The lily has an air,
And the snowdrop a grace,
And the sweetpea a way,
And the heartsease a face, —
Yet there’s nothing like the rose
When she blows.
MARGARET HAS A MILKING-PAIL
Margaret has a milking-pail,
And she rises early;
Thomas has a threshing-flail,
And he’s up betimes.
Sometimes crossing through the grass
Where the dew lies pearly,
They say “Good morrow” as they pass
By the leafy limes.
IN THE MEADOW — WHAT IN THE MEADOW?
In the meadow — what in the meadow?
Bluebells, buttercups, meadowsweet,
And fairy rings for the children’s feet
In the meadow.
In the garden — what in the garden?
Jacob’s-ladder and Solomon’s-seal,
And Love-lies-bleeding beside All-heal
In the garden.
A FRISKY LAMB
A frisky lamb
And a frisky child
Playing their pranks
In a cowslip meadow:
The sky all blue
And the air all mild
And the fields all sun
And the lanes half shadow.
MIX A PANCAKE
Mix a pancake,
Stir a pancake,
Pop it in the pan;
Fry the pancake,
Toss the pancake, —
Catch it if you can.
THE WIND HAS SUCH A RAINY SOUND
The wind has such a rainy sound
Moaning through the town,
The sea has such a windy sound, —
Will the ships go down?
The apples in the orchard
Tumble from their tree. —
Oh will the ships go down, go down,
In the windy sea?
THREE LITTLE CHILDREN
Three little children
On the wide wide earth,
Motherless children —
Cared for from their birth
By tender angels.
Three little children
On the wide wide sea,
Motherless children —
Safe as safe can be
With guardian angels.
FLY AWAY, FLY AWAY OVER THE SEA
Fly away, fly away over the sea,
Sun-loving swallow, for summer is done;
Come again, come again, come back to me,
Bringing the summer and bringing the sun.
MINNIE BAKES OATEN CAKES
Minnie bakes oaten cakes,
Minnie brews ale,
All because her Johnny’s coming
Home from sea.
And she glows like a rose
Who was so pale,
And “Are you sure the church clock goes?”
Says she.
A WHITE HEN SITTING
A white hen sitting
On white eggs three:
Next, three speckled chickens
As plump as plump can be.
An owl, and a hawk,
And a bat come to see:
But chicks beneath their mother’s wing
Squat safe as safe can be.
CURRANTS ON A BUSH
Currants on a bush,
And figs upon a stem,
And cherries on a bending bough,
And Ned to gather them.
I HAVE BUT ONE ROSE IN THE WORLD
I have but one rose in the world,
And my one rose stands a-drooping:
Oh, when my single rose is dead
There’ll be but thorns for stooping.
ROSY MAIDEN WINIFRED
Rosy maiden Winifred,
With a milkpail on her head,
Tripping through the corn,
While the dew lies on the wheat
In the sunny morn.
Scarlet shepherd’s-weatherglass
Spreads wide open at her feet
As they pass;
Cornflowers give their almond smell
While she brushes by,
And a lark sings from the sky
“All is well.”
WHEN THE COWS COME HOME THE MILK IS COMING
When the cows come home the milk is coming,
Honey’s made while the bees are humming;
Duck and drake on the rushy lake,
And the deer live safe in the breezy brake;
And timid, funny, brisk little bunny,
ROSES BLUSHING RED AND WHITE
Roses blushing red and white,
For delight;
Honeysuckle wreaths above,
For love;
Dim sweet-scented heliotrope,
For hope;
Shining lilies tall and straight,
For royal state;
Dusky pansies, let them be
For memory;
With violets of fragrant breath,
For death.
DING A DING
“Ding a ding,”
The sweet bells sing,
And say:
“Come, all be gay”
For a wedding day.
“Dong a dong,”
The bells sigh long,
And call:
“Weep one, weep all”
For a funeral.
A RING UPON HER FINGER
Delphi Complete Poetical Works of Christina Rossetti Page 21