BEFORE

Before I was a little girl I was a little bird,
I could not laugh, I could not dance, I could not speak a word;
But all about the woods I went and up into the sky—
And isn't it a pity I've forgotten how to fly?

I often came to visit you. I used to sit and sing
Upon our purple lilac-bush that smells so sweet in Spring;
But when you thanked me for my song of course you never knew
I soon should be a little girl and come to live with you.

SINGING-TIME

I wake in the morning early
And always, the very first thing,
I poke out my head and I sit up in bed
And I sing and I sing and I sing.

THERE ARE NO WOLVES IN ENGLAND NOW

There are no wolves in England now, nor any grizzly bears;
You could not meet them after dark upon the attic stairs.

When Nanna goes to fetch the tea there is no need at all
To leave the nursery door ajar in case you want to call.

And mother says, in fairy tales, those bits are never true
That tell you all the dreadful deeds that wicked fairies do.

And wouldn't it be silly for a great big girl like me
To be the leastest bit afraid of things that couldn't be?

MRS. BROWN

As soon as I'm in bed at night
And snugly settled down,
The little girl I am by day
Goes very suddenly away,
And then I'm Mrs. Brown.

I have a family of six,
And all of them have names,
The girls are Joyce and Nancy Maud,
The boys are Marmaduke and Claude
And Percival and James.

We have a house with twenty rooms
A mile away from town;
I think it's good for girls and boys
To be allowed to make a noise—
And so does Mr. Brown.

We do the most exciting things,
Enough to make you creep;
And on and on and on we go—
I sometimes wonder if I know
When I have gone to sleep.

THE SPRING

A little mountain spring I found
That fell into a pool;
I made my hands into a cup
And caught the sparkling water up—
It tasted fresh and cool.

A solemn little frog I spied
Upon the rocky brim;
He looked so boldly in my face,
I'm certain that he thought the place
Belonged by rights to him.

COUSIN GWEN

I like my cousin very much
Because of course one should;
She comes to spend the day with me
And stays to dinner and to tea,
And she is very good.

Her shining hair is smooth and neat,
She always wears a plait,
And French Translation she can do
And Algebra and Science too,
And clever things like that.

My Nanna thinks I ought to try
And copy Cousin Gwen;
But I could never be like her,
Indeed, indeed, I wish I were—
Excepting now and then.

THE BUTCHER

The butcher's shop is open wide
And everyone can see inside;
He stands behind the rows of meat
And gazes out into the street.

He always wears a coat of blue,
He has a linen apron too,
And with his knife he rather looks
Like ogres in the story-books.

He smiles and nods and says "Good-day"
If nurse and I go by that way
When we are shopping in the town—
I've never seen him sitting down.

THE PILLAR-BOX

The pillar-box is fat and red,
It's mouth is very wide,
It wears a Tammy on its head—
It must be dark inside.

And really it's the greatest fun
When mother lets me stop
And post the letters one by one—
I like to hear them drop.

THE DENTIST

I'd like to be a dentist with a plate upon the door
And a little bubbling fountain in the middle of the floor;
With lots of tiny bottles all arranged in coloured rows
And a page-boy with a line of silver buttons down his clothes.

I'd love to polish up the things and put them every day
Inside the darling chests of drawers all tidily away;
And every Sunday afternoon when nobody was there
I should go riding up and down upon the velvet chair.

JOYS

I'm rather fond of medicine, especially if it's pink,
Or else the fizzy-wizzy kind that makes you want to blink;
And eucalyptus lozenges are very nice I think.

I like it when I'm really ill and have to stay in bed
With mother's grown-up pillows all frilly round my head;
But measles is the funniest, because you get so red.

MY POLICEMAN

He is always standing there
At the corner of the Square;
He is very big and fine
And his silver buttons shine.

All the carts and taxis do
Everything he tells them to,
And the little errand-boys
When they pass him make no noise.

Though I seem so very small
I am not afraid at all;
He and I are friends, you see,
And he always smiles at me.

Once I wasn't very good
Rather near to where he stood,
But he never said a word
Though I'm sure he must have heard.

Nurse has a policeman too
(Hers has brown eyes, mine has blue),
Hers is sometimes on a horse,
But I like mine best of course.

THE PORRIDGE PLATE

My porridge plate at Grannie's house is white and misty blue,
And as I eat the porridge up the picture all comes through;
There is a castle on a lake, a tall tall lady too.

The castle has a flight of steps and lots of pointed towers,
A garden and a summer-house a little bit like ours,
And trees with leaves like feathers and the most enormous flowers.

I don't care much for porridge in an ordinary way
(Though it's jolly when there's treacle and your Nanna
lets you play),
But when I stop at Grannie's house I like it every day.

THE FAIRY GREEN

Upon the magic green I stood
Within the fairy ling,
Close to the little rustling wood
Where fairies always sing.

I was a little bit afraid,
I kept my eyes shut tight,
While all around they danced and played—
I felt the shining light.

Nearer and nearer still they came,
They touched my dress, my hair;
They called me softly by my name;
I heard them everywhere.

I never moved, I never spoke
(Oh, but my heart beat fast),
And so the little fairy folk
All went away at last,

To-morrow I shall go again
And seek the magic place,
I shall not be so foolish then,
I shall not hide my face.

But I shall stay for hours and hours
Until the daylight ends,
And we shall dance among the flowers
And be the greatest friends.

And I shall learn their fairy song;
And when I come away
Shall dream of it the whole night long
And sing it every day.

THE VISIT

When I went to Fairyland, visiting the Queen,
I rode upon a peacock, blue and gold and green;
Silver was the harness, crimson were the reins,
All hung about with little bells that swung on silken chains.

When I went to Fairyland, indeed you cannot think
What pretty things I had to eat, what pretty things to drink.
And did you know that butterflies could sing like little birds?
And did you guess that fairy-talk is not a bit like words?

When I went to Fairyland—of all the lovely things!—
They really taught me how to fly, they gave me fairy wings;
And every night I listen for a tapping on the pane—
I want so very much to go to Fairyland again.