[Illustration:
As Mother Bantam roamed the field,
Of worms and bugs in quest,
She found two large and lonesome eggs
In a deserted nest.
“This makes my duty clear” said she,
“I’ll stay and hatch them out.”
And for three weeks that little hen
Was no more seen about.]
[Illustration:
At length from out those two large eggs
The young chicks broke their way;
And thus the famous Shanghai Twins
First saw the light of day
And Mother Bantam stood aghast
That newborn pair to see
For, standing in his stocking feet,
Each was as tall as she.]
[Illustration:
When Mother Bantam came to feed
The hungry Shanghai Twins,
She found she had an awful task
To fill them to their chins;
And, if they were not filled that full,
They clamored to be fed;
Until in running down their food
She worked till nearly dead.]
[Illustration:
With hoppers and with lady bugs,
With moths and worms and flies,
With grains of corn and crumbs of bread
She stopped their hungry cries.
Till finally she ran so much
To get them food to eat,
That she herself, worn out and starved,
Was overcome by heat.]
[Illustration:
Said Mother Bantam to her twins:
“Since you two have been hatched,
“You have not found a single meal,
“You have not run nor scratched;
“I’ve fed you as a mother should,
“But you are stronger now
“And henceforth you must scratch for worms.”
Cried they: “Please show us how.”]
[Illustration:
She led them to the garden plot,
“Dig in your claws” said she,
“Just catch the dirt and push it back.
“It’s easy; don’t you see?”
“Ah yes,” they cried and went to work
With all their main and might,
And, ere they knew what they had done,
They buried her from sight.]
[Illustration:
The Shanghai Twins came on apace;
So rapidly they grew,
That larger, stronger fowls than they
Became extremely few.
And Mother Bantam gazed with pride
Her foster sons upon:
The one of them was christened James,
The other one was John.]
[Illustration:
Beneath the battered hen-house door,
A hungry fox one night
Poked in his nose, and all the fowls
Were paralyzed with fright.
But James and John knew what to do,
They fought with might and main
Until the fox took to his heels
With yelps of fear and pain.]
[Illustration:
Now when the valiant Shanghai Twins
Had put a fox to flight,
They stood on guard to watch the house
The balance of the night
And, while they watched, the other fowls
Reposed in perfect peace:
So, after that, the Twins were named
As poultry yard police.]
[Illustration:
Each wore, to show his lofty rank,
A helmet, club and star,
And soon as faithful guardians
Their fame spread near and far.
The very mention of their names,
Made thieving fowls turn pale
For well they knew that John and James
Could march them off to jail.]
[Illustration:
Three young and interesting pigs
Once lived within a sty;
And one was greedy, one was strong,
And one was scarce a half yard long
And scant ten inches high.]
[Illustration:
The greedy one, when large and fat,
Was led away one day;
The strong one rooted at his pen
Until he made a hole, and then
Crept out and ran away.
The smallest pig, with careful thought,
Made up his mind to stay.
He did not eat enough to grow,
He did not run away, and so
He lives in peace today.]
“ONCE ON A TIME.”
[Illustration:
If you had lived “once on a time,”
Just as the story books all say,
Oh wouldn’t it have been a sight
To see the knights with dragons fight
And bear their heads away.]
[Illustration:
And it was “once upon a time,”
That little boys came to be kings;
That fairies flitted here and there
To little girls with presents rare—
Rich gowns and diamond rings.
But now, dear me, how things are changed:
And yet, perhaps, ’tis just as well:
For, if ’twere not so long ago,
That all these wondrous things were so,
There’d be no tales to tell.]
[Illustration:
To Mr. Fox’s barber shop,
The large important Mr. Bear
Once took his chubby, little son
To have the barber trim his hair.]
[Illustration:
The cloth was tucked about his neck
When, in the mirror large and tall,
He chanced to see another bear
And cuffed the glass to pieces small.]
[Illustration:
Perhaps there is a funny land
Where rabbits dress in long tailed coats,
And kittens all wear wooden shoes
And schools are taught by learned goats.]
[Illustration:
Where crocodiles play violins
And owls are decked in gowns and caps;
But if there is a land like this,
You can not find it on the maps.]
[Illustration:
A very foolish little clam
Each night sat up till very late;
His parents said repeatedly
That he should not thus dissipate.
But he would never heed their words:
He was too headstrong to obey
And thus he had so little sleep
That he was sleepy all the day.]
[Illustration:
One summer morning on the beach,
He opened wide his shell to yawn.
A big red bird came walking by—
A snap, a gulp—the clam was gone!
So, children, though you are too large
For any hungry bird to hold,
You see ’tis much the wiser plan
To go to bed when you are told.]