'Tis he, when at night you go off to your bed, Bids you go to your sleep and not trouble your head; For wherever they're lying, in cupboard or shelf, 'Tis he will take care of your playthings himself! --ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON. A LAUGHING SONG When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy, And the dimpling stream runs laughing by; When the air does laugh with our merry wit, And the green hill laughs with the noise of it; When the meadows laugh with lively green, And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene; When Mary, and Susan, and Emily, With their sweet round mouths sing, "Ha, ha, he!" When the painted birds laugh in the shade, Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread: Come live, and be merry, and join with me To sing the sweet chorus of "Ha, ha, he!" --WILLIAM BLAKE. LULLABY OF AN INFANT CHIEF Oh, hush thee, my babie! thy sire was a knight, Thy mother a lady, both lovely and bright; The woods and the glens, from the towers which we see, They all are belonging, dear babie, to thee. Oh, fear not the bugle, though loudly it blows, It calls but the warders that guard thy repose; Their bows would be bended, their blades would be red, Ere the step of a foeman draw near to thy bed. Oh, hush thee, my babie! the time soon will come, When thy sleep shall be broken by trumpet and drum; Then hush thee, my darling! take rest while you may; For strife comes with manhood, and waking with day. --SIR WALTER SCOTT. THE FAIRY QUEEN (An Old Song) Come follow, follow me, You fairy elves that be, Which circle on the green; Come, follow Mab your queen. Hand in hand let's dance around, For this place is fairy ground. The grasshopper, gnat, and fly, Serve for our minstrelsy; Grace said, we dance a while And so the time beguile: And if the moon doth hide her head, The glowworm lights us home to bed. On tops of dewy grass So nimbly do we pass, The young and tender stalk Ne'er bends when we do walk; Yet in the morning may be seen Where we the night before have been. --UNKNOWN. RING OUT, WILD BELLS Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light: The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true.