That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble, Has cost thee mony a weary nibble! Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble, But house or hald,[7-10] To thole[7-11] the winter's sleety dribble, An' cranreuch[7-12] cauld! But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,[7-13] In proving foresight may be vain; The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft a-gley,[7-14] An' lea'e us nought but grief and pain, For promis'd joy. Still them are blest, compar'd wi' me! The present only toucheth thee: But, Och! I backward cast my e'e On prospects drear; An' forward, tho' I canna see,[8-15] I guess an' fear. FOOTNOTES: [5-1] _Sleekit_ means _sly_. [5-2] _Brattle_ means a short race. [5-3] A _pattle_ is a scraper for cleaning a plow. [6-4] _Daimen-icker_ means an ear of corn occasionally. [6-5] A _thrave_ is twenty-four sheaves. [6-6] _Lave_ is the Scotch word for _remainder_. [7-7] _Foggage_ is coarse uncut grass. [7-8] _Snell_ means _sharp_. [7-9] The coulter is the sharp iron which cuts the sod before the plow. [7-10] _Hald_ means a resting place. _But_ here means _without_. [7-11] _Thole_ is the Scotch word for _endure_. [7-12] _Cranreuch_ is hoar-frost. [7-13] _No thy lane_ means _not alone_. [7-14] _Gang aft a-gley_ means _often go wrong_. [8-15] In this poem and the one _To a Mountain Daisy_, does the allusion to the poet's own hard fate add to or detract from the beauty of the composition? Do these allusions give any insight into his character? What was always uppermost in his mind? [Illustration: ROBERT BURNS 1759-1796] TO A MOUNTAIN DAISY ON TURNING ONE DOWN WITH THE PLOUGH IN APRIL, 1786 _By_ ROBERT BURNS Wee, modest, crimson-tipped flower, Thou's met me in an evil hour, For I maun[8-1] crush amang the stoure[8-2] Thy slender stem; To spare thee now is past my power, Thou bonny gem. Alas! it's no thy neibor sweet, The bonny lark, companion meet, Bending thee' mang the dewy weet, Wi' spreckled[8-3] breast, When upward springing, blithe, to greet The purpling east. Cauld blew the bitter biting north Upon thy early, humble birth; Yet cheerfully thou glinted forth Amid the storm, Scarce reared above the parent earth Thy tender form. [Illustration: THOU BONNY GEM] The flaunting flowers our gardens yield, High sheltering woods and wa's maun shield. But thou beneath the random bield[9-4] O' clod or stane, Adorns the histie[9-5] stibble-field, Unseen, alane.