“’Oh, the poor lame weaver! 
   How will he laugh outright
 When he sees his dwindling flax field
   All full of flowers by night!’

“And then up spoke a brownie,
   With a long beard on his chin;
 ‘I have spun up all the tow,’ said he,
  ’And I want some more to spin.

“’I’ve spun a piece of hempen cloth,
   And I want to spin another—­
 A little sheet for Mary’s bed
   And an apron for her mother!’

“And with that I could not help but laugh,
   And I laughed out loud and free;
 And then on the top of the Caldon-Low
   There was no one left but me.

“And all on the top of the Caldon-Low
  The mists were cold and gray,
And nothing I saw but the mossy stones
  That round about me lay.

“But as I came down from the hilltop,
  I heard, afar below,
How busy the jolly miller was,
  And how merry the wheel did go.

“And I peeped into the widow’s field,
   And, sure enough, was seen
 The yellow ears of the mildewed corn
   All standing stiff and green!

“And down by the weaver’s croft I stole,
   To see if the flax were high;
 But I saw the weaver at his gate
   With the good news in his eye!

“Now, this is all that I heard, mother,
   And all that I did see;
 So, prithee, make my bed, mother,
   For I’m tired as I can be!”

WHO STOLE THE BIRD’S NEST?

By L. Maria Child

  “To-whit! to-whit! to-whee! 
   Will you listen to me? 
   Who stole four eggs I laid,
   And the nice nest I made?”

“Not I,” said the cow; “Moo-oo! 
Such a thing I’d never do. 
I gave you a wisp of hay,
But didn’t take your nest away. 
Not I,” said the cow; “Moo-oo! 
Such a thing I’d never do.”

  “To-whit! to-whit! to-whee! 
   Will you listen to me? 
   Who stole four eggs I laid,
   And the nice nest I made?”

  “Bob-o’-link!  Bob-o’-link! 
   Now, what do you think? 
   Who stole a nest away
   From the plum tree, to-day?”

“Not I,” said the dog; “Bow-wow! 
I wouldn’t be so mean, anyhow! 
I gave hairs the nest to make,
But the nest I did not take. 
Not I,” said the dog; “Bow-wow! 
I’m not so mean, anyhow.”

[Illustration]

  “To-whit I to-whit! to-whee! 
   Will you listen to me? 
   Who stole four eggs I laid,
   And the nice nest I made?”

  “Bob-o’-link!  Bob-o’-link! 
   Now what do you think? 
   Who stole a nest away
   From the plum tree, to-day?”

  “Coo-coo!  Coo-coo!  Coo-coo! 
   Let me speak a word, too! 
   Who stole that pretty nest
   From little yellow-breast?”

“Not I,” said the sheep; “Oh, no! 
I wouldn’t treat a poor bird so. 
I gave wool the nest to line,
But the nest was none of mine. 
Baa!  Baa!” said the sheep; “Oh, no. 
I wouldn’t treat a poor bird so.”