Old Man’s Nursery Rhyme
I
In the jolly winters
Of the long-ago,
It was not so cold as now—
O! No! No!
Then, as I remember,
Snowballs, to eat,
Were as good as apples now,
And every bit as sweet!
II
In the jolly winters
Of the dead-and-gone,
Bub was warm as summer,
With his red mitts on,—
Just in his little waist-
And-pants all together,
Who ever heard him growl
About cold weather?
III
In the jolly winters of the long-ago—
Was it half so cold as now?
O! No! No!
Who caught his death o’ cold,
Making prints of men
Flat-backed in snow that now’s
Twice as cold again?
IV
In the jolly winters
Of the dead-and-gone,
Startin’ out rabbit-hunting
Early as the dawn,—
Who ever froze his fingers,
Ears, heels, or toes,—
Or’d a cared if he had?
Nobody knows!
V
Nights by the kitchen-stove,
Shelling white and red
Corn in the skillet, and
Sleepin’ four abed!
Ah! the jolly winters
Of the long-ago!
We were not so old as now—
O! No! No!