"I should think you'd lose heart in this frosty air,"

Said a sparrow one day to a snowdrop fair.

"You're almost hidden down there in the snow,

And I see you shiver whene'er the winds blow.

If I were you I wouldn't bloom

If I couldn't grow with the roses in June.

What right have they any more than you,

To live in the summer when skies are blue

And bright with sunshine the whole long day?

They have it easy enough, I must say;

But you're so meekly quiet and white,

You're afraid to speak up when you have the right."

"But, my dear," said the snowdrop, "can't you see

That summer can do very well without me?

My place is to blossom right here in the snow,

No matter where the roses grow.

It's lovely to be a summer flower,

But I am content to do all in my power

To sweeten the gloom of this wintry day,

And be brave if the sky is so cold and gray.

I cannot be helpful by being sad;

I have my work and that makes me glad

To bloom my fairest and grow my best,

And let kind nature do all the rest."