Stretch the leather over the last,
Fit it and sew it and hold it fast.
Wax the thread, pull it through and through;
Stitch it and stitch it and sing a song, too.
Rap-a-tap, tap! Tick-a-tack, too!
This is the way to make a shoe.
Take a sharp awl and punch a hole
Right through the upper and through the sole.
Put in one peg, put in two;
Chuckle and laugh as you hammer them through.
Rap-a-tap, tap! Tick-a-tack, too!
This is the way to make a shoe.
Stretch the leather over the last,
Fit it and sew it firm and fast.
—Adapted from a poem by an unknown writer
[Illustration]