Hey, Willie Winkie! the wean’s in a creel! 
    Waumblin’ aff a body’s knee like a vera eel,
    Ruggin’ at the cat’s lug, and ravellin’ a’ her thrums,—­
    Hey, Willie Winkie!—­See, there he comes!

    Wearie is the mither that has a storie wean,
    A wee stumpie stoussie that canna rin his lane,
    That has a battle aye wi’ sleep before he’ll close an ee;
    But a kiss frae aff his rosy lips gies strength anew to me.

WILLIAM MILLER.

 THE OWL AND THE PUSSY-CAT.

“The Owl and the Pussy-Cat,” by Edward Lear (1812-88), is placed here because I once found that a timid child was much strengthened and developed by learning it.  It is a song that appeals to the imagination of children, and they like to sing it.

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat;
They took some honey, and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five-pound note. 
The Owl looked up to the moon above,
And sang to a small guitar,
“O lovely Pussy!  O Pussy, my love! 
What a beautiful Pussy you are,—­
You are,
What a beautiful Pussy you are!”

Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl! 
How wonderful sweet you sing! 
Oh, let us be married,—­too long we have tarried,—­
But what shall we do for a ring?”
They sailed away for a year and a day
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a piggy-wig stood
With a ring in the end of his nose,—­
His nose,
With a ring in the end of his nose.

“Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?” Said the piggy, “I will,”
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the turkey who lives on the hill. 
They dined upon mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon,
And hand in hand on the edge of the sand
They danced by the light of the moon,—­
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

EDWARD LEAR.

WYNKEN, BLYNKEN, AND NOD.

“Wynken, Blynken, and Nod,” by Eugene Field (1850-95), pleases children, who are all by nature sailors and adventurers.

    Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
      Sailed off in a wooden shoe,—­
    Sailed on a river of crystal light
      Into a sea of dew. 
   “Where are you going, and what do you wish?”
      The old moon asked the three. 
   “We have come to fish for the herring-fish
      That live in this beautiful sea;
      Nets of silver and gold have we,”
                    Said Wynken,
                    Blynken,
                    And Nod.

    The old moon laughed and sang a song,
      As they rocked in the wooden shoe;
    And the wind that sped them all night long
      Ruffled the waves of dew;
    The little stars were the herring-fish
      That lived in the beautiful sea. 
   “Now cast your nets wherever