“Lazy sheep, pray tell me why In the pleasant field you lie, Eating grass and daisies white, From the morning till the night: Everything can something do; But what kind of use are you?” “Nay, my little master, nay; Do not serve me so, I pray! Don’t you see the wool that grows On my back to make you clothes? Cold, ah, very cold you’d be, If you had not wool from me. “True, it seems a pleasant thing Nipping daisies in the spring; But what chilly nights I pass On the cold and dewy grass, Or pick my scanty dinner where All the ground is brown and bare! “Then the farmer comes at last, When the merry spring is past; Cuts my wooly fleece away, For your coat in wintry day. Little master, this is why In the pleasant fields I lie.” —_Ann Taylor._ [Illustration] _There Was an Old Woman._ There was an old woman she lived in a shoe, She had so many children she didn’t know what to do; She gave them some broth without any bread; She whipped them all soundly, and put them to bed. [Illustration] _Oh, the Little Rusty, Dusty, Rusty Miller._ Oh, the little rusty, dusty, rusty miller! I’ll not change my wife for either gold or siller. _Four-and-Twenty Tailors._ Four-and-twenty tailors went to kill a snail, The best man among them durst not touch her tail; She put out her horns like a little Kyloe cow— Run, tailors, run, or she’ll kill you all e’en now. _When I Was a Little Girl._ When I was a little girl, I washed my mammy’s dishes; Now I am a great girl, I roll in golden riches. _Three Little Kittens._ Three little kittens lost their mittens, And they began to cry: “O mother dear we very much fear That we have lost our mittens.” “Lost your mittens, you naughty kittens! Then you shall have no pie.” “Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow, And we can have no pie, Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow!” _Little Tommy Tucker._ Little Tommy Tucker Sings for his supper; What shall he eat? White bread and butter, How shall he cut it Without e’er a knife? How will he be married Without e’er a wife? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY STARS? Do you know how many stars There are shining in the sky? Do you know how many clouds Ev’ry day go floating by? God in heaven has counted all, He would miss one should it fall. Do you know how many children Go to little beds at night, And without a care or sorrow, Wake up in the morning light? God in heaven each name can tell, Loves you too and loves you well. —_From the German._ [Illustration] A VIOLET BANK.