I would not be the tomtit's mate,
For, even if I were not late,
It seems as though he'd gird at me,
Saying, "Quick, quick," eternally.
The chaffinch you would never think
Was much addicted to strong drink,
Yet all the Spring you'll hear him say, "Oh,
There's cheaper beer in County Mayo."
The jay, whatever he is after,
Makes the woods ring with ribald laughter;
"Hee, hee, ha, ha," he says, and then
"Ha, ha, hee, hee, ha, ha," again.
The plover over fields brown red
Weeps for her children who are dead;
Still day and night she cries to you,
"_Mes pauvres petits! La grande charrue!_"
So silently the screech-owl flies
You sometimes scarce believe your eyes,
Until you start to hear him shout
To timid mice, "Come _out_! Come _out_!"
Are baby martins in the nest
With extra-loving parents blest?
That they should murmur sleepily,
"Oh cuddle me, oh cuddle me."
When first the chiff-chaff comes your way
You're glad, it means Spring's come to stay;
But soon you wish he'd change his song
With his "Chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff" all day long.
Those white-throats in the raspberry canes!
They never take the slightest pains
To hide from you how much they steal,
But say, "Thief, thief," throughout their meal.
* * * * *
Commercial Candour.
"Your L20 at ----'s buys L25 worth elsewhere."--_Advt. in Provincial
Paper._
* * * * *
A Humane Edict.
"Notice is hereby given that the washing of motor cars and vehicles,
and the washing of widows, etc., by hose has been prohibited."
_Tasmanian Paper._
* * * * *
"Accountant wanted for Motor Companies in West End; must have
experience in Bookkeeping."--_Weekly Paper._
Not perhaps an unreasonable stipulation in the circumstances.
* * * * *