With Dog and Gun

Out in the woods with a dog an’ gun
Is my idea of a real day’s fun. 
’Tain’t the birds that I’m out to kill
That furnish me with the finest thrill,
’Cause I never worry or fret a lot,
Or curse my luck if I miss a shot. 
There’s many a time, an’ I don’t know why,
That I shoot too low or I aim too high,
An’ all I can see is the distant whirr
Of a bird that’s gittin’ back home to her—­
Yep, gittin’ back home at the end o’ day,
An’ I’m just as glad that he got away.

There’s a whole lot more in the woods o’ fall
Than the birds you bag—­if you think at all. 
There’s colors o’ gold an’ red an’ brown
As never were known in the busy town;
There’s room to breathe in the purest air
An’ something worth looking at everywhere;
There’s the dog who’s leadin’ you on an’ on
To a patch o’ cover where birds have gone,
An’ standin’ there, without move or change,
Till you give the sign that you’ve got the range. 
That’s thrill enough for my blood, I say,
So why should I care if they get away?

Fact is, there are times that I’d ruther miss
Than to bring ’em down, ’cause I feel like this: 
There’s a heap more joy in a living thing
Than a breast crushed in or a broken wing,
An’ I can’t feel right, an’ I never will,
When I look at a bird that I’ve dared to kill. 
Oh, I’m jus’ plumb happy to tramp about
An’ follow my dog as he hunts ’em out,
Jus’ watchin’ him point in his silent way
Where the Bob Whites are an’ the partridge stay;
For the joy o’ the great outdoors I’ve had,
So why should I care if my aim is bad?

Old Mister Laughter

Old Mister Laughter
  Comes a-grinnin’ down the way,
Singin’:  “Never mind your troubles,
  For they’ll surely pass away.” 
Singin’:  “Now the sun is shinin’
  An’ there’s roses everywhere;
To-morrow will be soon enough
  To fret about your care.”

Old Mister Laughter
  Comes a-grinnin’ at my door,
Singin’:  “Don’t go after money
  When you’ve got enough and more.” 
Singin’:  “Laugh with me this mornin’
  An’ be happy while you may. 
What’s the use of riches
  If they never let you play?”

Old Mister Laughter
  Comes a-grinnin’ all the time,
Singin’ happy songs o’ gladness
  In a good old-fashioned rhyme. 
Singin’:  “Keep the smiles a-goin’,
  Till they write your epitaph,
And don’t let fame or fortune
  Ever steal away your laugh.”

A Family Row

I freely confess there are good friends of mine,
With whom we are often invited to dine,
Who get on my nerves so that I cannot eat
Or stay with my usual ease in my seat;
For I know that if something should chance to occur
Which he may not like or which doesn’t please her,
That we’ll have to try to be pleasant somehow
While they stage a fine little family row.