THE BIRD's NEST. Now the sun rises bright and soars high in the air, The trees smile around us in green; The sweet little birds to the meadows repair, And pick up the moss, and the lamb's wool and hair, To make their nests soft, warm, and clean. High up in some tree, far away from the town, Where they think naughty boys cannot creep, They build it with twigs, and they line it with down; And lay their neat eggs, speckled over with brown ; And sit till the little ones peep. Then come, little boy, shall we go to the wood, And while the old birds are gone out to get food, But ah! don't you think 'twould be wicked and bad, To take their poor nestlings away; And after the toil and the trouble they've had, When they think themselves safe, and are singing se glad, To spoil all their work for our [play? Suppose some great creature, a dozen yards high, And out of the window, away with you fly, Nor stop while you bid your dear parents good bye, Nor care for a word that you said: And take you, not one of your friends could tell where, And feed you with victuals you never could bear, Oh! how for your dearest mamma would you sigh, And try to break out of your prison, and cry, Then say, little boy, shall we climb the tall tree? Then sleep, little innocents, sleep in your nest, To take you away would be wrong: And when the next summer in green shall be drest, And your merry music shall join with the rest, When spring shall return, to the woodlands we'll hie, And sit by yon very tall tree; And rejoice, as we hear your sweet carols on high, That we left you to sing and be free. A. T. THE HERMIT. A Hermit there was, and he liv'd in a grot, And when I came there, the old hermit said, well! again ; It is being, and doing, and having, that make TO A CHILD WHO HAS TOLD AN AND has dear Edwin told a lie? Did he forget that God was by? That God, who saw the thing he did, He made your eyes, and can discern You thought, because you were alone, And always be afraid, my dear, I wish, my love, you'd always try Why should you fear to tell me true? And then, whate'er your crime has been, But cheerful, innocent, and gay, That either God or I should hear. A. |