Hi-diddle, ho-diddle, Pop-diddle-dee, Instead of globe I might have said A _sphere_ for you and me; For all the same, in truth, Are sphere and globe and ball, And _hemi_'s half so half this Earth, A _hemisphere_, we call. Hi-diddle, ho-diddle, Pop-diddle-dee, 'T was once supposed the Earth stood still, While Sun went round it, free;-- But now we've learned it well, That 't is the Earth doth turn Upon its Axis, as it's called; And also round the Sun. {115} Hi-diddle, ho-diddle, Pop-diddle-dee, Our Earth in turning round, How long may she be? She turns on her axis In a day, and a night, But to go around the Sun Takes a year for the flight. {116} _WHAT IS THE AXIS?_ Now you ask, "What is the Axis?" With an apple I will show; Place your thumb upon the stem-place, And your finger at the blow;-- Now we'll just suppose the apple Has a stem that passes through, And this stem would be the Axis; Now we'll whirl the apple, true, Holding fast 'twixt thumb and finger,-- That's the way the Earth goes round On its Axis, as we call it, Though no real stem is found. {117} And the two ends of the Axis Have been called the Poles, my dear; Yes, the North Pole and the South Pole, Where 'tis very cold and drear. Now we'll hold a bigger apple At a distance, for the Sun; Tip the smaller one a little, And then slowly wheel it round All around the larger apple, And it represents the Earth Circling round the Sun that holds it, Ceaseless, in its yearly path. Wondrous is the strong attraction Of the Sun which holds in place All the Planets in their turnings, All the Stars that see his face; But more wondrous far the power That created Sun and us, And that gave a form and being, To this mighty Universe. "The Universe!" now you exclaim: "By the Universe, what do you mean?" {118} 'Tis the Sun and the Planets, and every thing known, That we call by this Universe name. Now the "Planets," you ask, "What are Planets?" They're globes, Some larger, some smaller than Earth,-- Which are swinging in space, And are all held in place, By the God-power that first gave them birth. {119} _HEAT AND COLD_. Our earth has a _North Pole_, Where 'tis very cold; It also has a _South Pole_, That's just the same, we're told. But half-way between, And all the way around, We call it the _Equator_, And heat doth there abound. For there the sun shines always, Though it goes north or south Some twenty-three degrees or more, And sometimes causes drouth. The sun goes north, we call it. But 'tis the earth instead, That tips, and makes it seem the sun Comes higher overhead. And when the sun is northward 'Tis summer here, you see; And when it's to the southward 'Tis there in same degree. {120} _HARLEY'S DREAM_.