On the chair an open lesson, open wide at A B C,
In the corner little Lettice, just a little girl of three.
Little Lettice is not stupid; she can learn if she will try;
And she knows her A B C just as well as you or I.
But to-day she really will not think of anything at all
But the shining china dishes and the flowers on the wall;
When to big A mother pointed, saying, "Letty, this you know,"
Letty twirled her little fingers and sedately answered, "O!"
This is why our little Lettice in the corner there you see,
There to stand until it pleases her to say her A B C;
For she knows the printed letters just as well as you or I,
And the little miss could say them if she only chose to try.
[Illustration]