Three little children On the wide wide sea, Motherless children— Safe as safe can be With guardian angels. Fly away, fly away over the sea, Sun-loving swallow, for summer is done; Come again, come again, come back to me, Bringing the summer and bringing the sun. Minnie bakes oaten cakes, Minnie brews ale, All because her Johnny’s coming Home from sea. And she glows like a rose, Who was so pale, And “Are you sure the church clock goes?” Says she. A white hen sitting On white eggs three: Next, three speckled chickens As plump as plump can be. An owl, and a hawk, And a bat come to see: But chicks beneath their mother’s wing Squat safe as safe can be. Currants on a bush, And figs upon a stem, And cherries on a bending bough, And Ned to gather them. Playing at bob cherry Tom and Nell and Hugh: Cherry bob! cherry bob! There’s a bob for you. Tom bobs a cherry For gaping snapping Hugh, While curly-pated Nelly Snaps at it too. Look, look, look— Oh what a sight to see! The wind is playing cherry bob With the cherry tree. I have but one rose in the world, And my one rose stands a-drooping: Oh, when my single rose is dead There’ll be but thorns for stooping. Rosy maiden Winifred, With a milkpail on her head, Tripping through the corn, While the dew lies on the wheat In the sunny morn. Scarlet shepherd’s-weatherglass Spreads wide open at her feet As they pass; Cornflowers give their almond smell While she brushes by, And a lark sings from the sky “All is well.” Blind from my birth, Where flowers are springing I sit on earth All dark. Hark! hark! A lark is singing, His notes are all for me, For me his mirth:— Till some day I shall see Beautiful flowers And birds in bowers Where all Joy Bells are ringing. When the cows come home the milk is coming, Honey’s made while the bees are humming; Duck and drake on the rushy lake, And the deer live safe in the breezy brake; And timid, funny, brisk little bunny, Winks his nose and sits all sunny. Roses blushing red and white, For delight; Honeysuckle wreaths above, For love; Dim sweet-scented heliotrope, For hope; Shining lilies tall and straight, For royal state; Dusky pansies, let them be For memory; With violets of fragrant breath, For death. “Ding a ding,” The sweet bells sing, And say: “Come, all be gay” For a wedding day. “Dong a dong,” The bells sigh long, And call: “Weep one, weep all” For a funeral. A ring upon her finger, Walks the bride, With the bridegroom tall and handsome At her side. A veil upon her forehead, Walks the bride, With the bridegroom proud and merry At her side. Fling flowers beneath the footsteps Of the bride; Fling flowers before the bridegroom At her side. “Ferry me across the water, Do, boatman, do.” “If you’ve a penny in your purse I’ll ferry you.” “I have a penny in my purse, And my eyes are blue; So ferry me across the water, Do, boatman, do.” “Step into my ferry-boat, Be they black or blue, And for the penny in your purse I’ll ferry you.”