A fairy went a-marketing--
She bought a little fish;
She put it in a crystal bowl
Upon a golden dish;
All day she sat in wonderment
And watched its silver gleam.
And then she gently took it up
And slipped it in a stream.
A fairy went a-marketing--
She bought a coloured bird;
It sang the sweetest, shrillest song
That ever she had heard;
She sat beside its painted cage
And listened half the day,
And then she opened wide the door
And let it fly away.
A fairy went a-marketing--
She bought a winter gown
All stitched about with gossamer
And lined with thistledown;
She wore it all the afternoon
With prancing and delight,
Then gave it to a little frog
To keep him warm at night.
A fairy went a-marketing--
She bought a gentle mouse
To take her tiny messages,
To keep her tiny house;
All day she kept its busy feet
Pit-patting to and fro,
And then she kissed its silken ears,
Thanked it, and let it go.
MISS ROSE FYLEMAN.
Jan. 2, 1918.