_A SONG OF SUMMER._
[Illustration]
A cuckoo sat on a tree and sang,
"Summer is coming, coming";
And a bee crept out from the hive and began
Lazily humming, humming.
The frogs, from out the rushes and reeds,
Into the water went splashing;
And the dragon-fly, with his body of green,
Through the flags went flashing, flashing.
The dormouse put out her head and said,
"Really the sun shines brighter";
But the butterfly answered, "Not yet, not yet,"
And folded his wings up tighter.
But the thrush and the blackbird began to sing
Ever sweeter and sweeter,
And the grasshopper chirped, and hopped, and skipped
Ever fleeter and fleeter.
The gnats and the chafers began to buzz;
And the swallows began to chatter:
"We have come from abroad with the summer at last.
How lazy you are! what's the matter?"
Then the dormouse said, "Summer's really here,
Since the swallows are homeward coming";
And the butterfly spread out his wings, and the bee
Went louder and louder humming.
And suddenly brighter the sun shone out,
And the clouds away went sailing,
And the sheep nibbled peacefully at the grass,
And the cow looked over the paling.
Yes, summer had come, and the cuckoo sang
His song through woodland and hollow:
"The summer is come; if you don't believe me,
You have only to ask the swallow."