ISTEN, little girls and boys;

Listen, one and all!

Put away those nasty toys—

Mary, hold that horrid noise—

Willy, drop your ball!

Come and listen, if you can.

To a bald but good old man.

Folks will teach you when at school

"Never tell a lie!"

Nonsense: if you 're not a fool

You may always break the rule,

But you must be sly;

For they'll whip you, past a doubt,

If they ever find you out.

"Little boys," they say, "should be

Seen but never heard!"

Rubbish: what can people see

In an ugly brat if he

Never says a word?

Talk, then, if you feel inclin'd;

Talking shows the active mind.

Folks will tell you, "Children must

Do as they are bid

But you understand, I trust,

That the rule is quite unjust

To a thoughtful kid:

For, if once brute force appears.

How about Free-will, my dears?

Folks say, "Children should not let

Angry passions rise."

Humbug! When you 're in a pet

Why on earth should you regret

Blacking some one's eyes?

Children's eyes are made, in fact,

Just on purpose to be black'd.

I, when young, was green enough

Blindly to obey

All the idiotic stuff

That an old pedantic muff

Taught me day by day;—

And, you see—at eighty-five

I'm the biggest fool alive!