For every evil under the sun, There is a remedy, or there is none. If there be one, try to find it; If there be none, never mind it. There are many flags in many lands, There are flags of every hue, But there is no flag in any land Like our own Red, White, and Blue. The inner side of every cloud Is always bright and shining; And so I turn my clouds about, And always wear them inside out, To show the silver lining. I would not hurt a living thing, However weak or small; The beasts that graze, the birds that sing, Our Father made them all. Little drop of dew, Like a gem you are; I believe that you Must have been a star. When the day is bright, On the grass you lie; Tell me then, at night Are you in the sky? --F. D. SHERMAN How beautiful is the rain! After the dust and the heat, In the broad and fiery street, In the narrow lane, How beautiful is the rain! --LONGFELLOW In spring, when stirs the wind, I know That soon the crocus buds will show; For 'tis the wind who bids them wake And into pretty blossoms break. --F. D. SHERMAN O, pause and think for a moment What a desolate land it would be, If, east or west, the eye should rest On not a single tree! --GRAY It was only a sunny smile, And little it cost in the giving, But it scattered the night, Like the morning light, And made the day worth living. Keep pushing--'tis wiser Than sitting aside, And dreaming and sighing, And waiting the tide. In life's earnest battle, They only prevail Who daily march onward, And never say "fail". One step and then another, And the longest walk is ended. One stitch and then another, And the largest rent is mended. One brick and then another, And the highest wall is made. One flake and then another, And the deepest snow is laid. Speak the truth and speak it ever, Cost it what it will. He who hides the wrong he did, Does the wrong thing still. Whichever way the wind doth blow, Some heart is glad to have it so; Then blow it east or blow it west, The wind that blows, that wind is best. We should make the same use of books that the bee does of a flower: he gathers sweets from it, but does not injure it.