Take a boy along with you And you'll learn before you're through That this world is full of wonders You'd forgotten all about; Song birds nesting in a tree That you pass and never see, Strange and curious mysteries The lad keeps pointing out. He will question how and why, With his bright and eager eye He'll discover curious sights All along the way; He'll show novelties to you Which were hidden from your view, And will fill with ecstasy Just a common day. What to you is dull and old, He will wonderingly behold, Marvelous your dreary world Will appear to him; And at every bend and turn From that youngster you will learn Just how much a man may miss When his eyes grow dim. Who should say the world is bare, Commonplace and filled with care? Tired age may utter this, Blinded to its joy; Sage and cynic, grown severe, May have lost the magic here, But the world is glorious To a little boy. If you fancy life is just Bearing burdens, as you must, City streets and buildings tall And the moving throng, If you've lost the power to see Splendors as they used to be, Some day when you're starting out Take a boy along. _When the Soap Gets in Your Eye_ My father says that I ought to be A man when anything happens to me. An' he says that a man will take a blow An' never let on it hurts him so; He'll grit his teeth an' he'll set his chin An' bear his pain with a manly grin. But I'll bet that the bravest man would cry If ever the soap gets into his eye. I'm brave enough when I'm playin' ball, An' I can laugh when I've had a fall. With the girls around I'd never show That I was scared if the blood should flow From my banged up nose or a battered knee. As brave as the bravest I can be, But it's different pain, an' I don't know why, Whenever the soap gets into your eye. I can set my teeth an' I can grin When I scrape my cheek or I bark my shin, An' once I fell from our apple tree An' the wind was knocked right out of me, But I never cried an' the gang all said That they thought for sure I was really dead. But it's worse than thinking you're going to die Whenever the soap gets into your eye. When your mother's holding your neck, and you Couldn't get away if you wanted to, An' she's latherin' hard with her good right hand, It's more than the bravest man could stand. If you open your mouth to howl, you get A taste of the wash rag, cold and wet, But you got to yell till your face gets dry Whenever the soap gets into your eye. "_Our Little House_" I'd like to have them think of me As one with whom they liked to be; I'd like to make my home so fair That they would all be happy there; To have them think, when life is done, That here they had their finest fun.