Little brook—­sing a song
  Of a leaf that sailed along
Down the golden-braided center of your current
     swift and strong,
  And a dragon-fly that lit
  On the tilting rim of it,
And rode away and wasn’t scared a bit.

  And sing—­how oft in glee
  Came a truant boy like me,
Who loved to lean and listen to your lilting
     melody,
  Till the gurgle and refrain
  Of your music in his brain
Wrought a happiness as keen to him as pain.

  Little brook—­laugh and leap! 
  Do not let the dreamer weep;
Sing him all the songs of summer till he sink in
     softest sleep;
  And then sing soft and low
  Through his dreams of long ago—­
Sing back to him the rest he used to know!

A LIFE LESSON

There! little girl! don’t cry! 
  They have broken your doll, I know;
    And your tea-set blue,
    And your play-house, too,
  Are things of long ago;
But childish troubles will soon pass by,
       There! little girl! don’t cry!

There! little girl! don’t cry! 
  They have broken your slate, I know;
    And the glad wild ways
    Of your school-girl days
  Are things of the long ago;
But life and love will soon come by,
       There! little girl! don’t cry!

There! little girl! don’t cry! 
  They have broken your heart, I know;
    And the rainbow gleams
    Of your youthful dreams
  Are things of the long ago;
But heaven holds all for which you sigh,
       There! little girl! don’t cry!

* * * * *

POEMS BY EDWARD LEAR

THE QUANGLE WANGLE’S HAT

On the top of the Crumpetty Tree
  The Quangle Wangle sat,
But his face you could not see,
  On account of his Beaver Hat. 
For his Hat was a hundred and two feet wide,
With ribbons and bibbons on every side,
And bells, and buttons, and loops, and lace,
So that nobody ever could see the face
  Of the Quangle Wangle Quee.

The Quangle Wangle said
  To himself on the Crumpetty Tree,
“Jam, and jelly, and bread
  Are the best of food for me! 
But the longer I live on this Crumpetty Tree
The plainer than ever it seems to me
That very few people come this way
And that life on the whole is far from gay!”
  Said the Quangle Wangle Quee.

But there came to the Crumpetty Tree
  Mr. and Mrs. Canary;
And they said, “Did ever you see
  Any spot so charmingly airy? 
May we build a nest on your lovely Hat? 
Mr. Quangle Wangle, grant us that! 
Oh, please let us come and build a nest
Of whatever material suits you best,
  Mr. Quangle Wangle Quee!”

And besides, to the Crumpetty Tree
  Came the Stork, the Duck, and the Owl;
The Snail and the Bumblebee,
  The Frog and the Fimble Fowl
(The Fimble Fowl, with a corkscrew leg);
And all of them said, “We humbly beg
We may build our homes on your lovely Hat,—­
Mr. Quangle Wangle, grant us that! 
  Mr. Quangle Wangle Quee!”