Jack Horner’s Thanksgiving
Little Jack Horner sat in a corner
Eating a Christmas Pie;
He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum
And said, “What a brave boy am I!”
—Mother Goose.
Little Jack Horner
Was not in a corner,
And he had not any pie,
Nor the trace of a plum
On his little thumb;
“Oh! a hungry boy am I,”
Cried little Jack Horner.
Thanksgiving Day
It was, and the way
The wide old house was humming
With the merry noise
Of girls and boys
At the thought of the dinner coming!—
Chief noise, Jack Horner!
Why, even the lid
Of the tea-kettle did
A jig while the water bubbled,
And the saucer and cup
Clinked, “Hurry up!”
And the oven’s fragrance doubled
For little Jack Horner.
He was here and there,
He was everywhere,
He was in and out and under;
Again and again
And again, “Oh! when
Will dinner be ready, I wonder?”
Cried little Jack Horner.
Then, ready!—and there
In his high chair
Was perched brave Jack, the starving—
Perched very close
To the turkey’s nose
That dear grandpa was carving
For little Jack Horner.
A wishbone, a heart,
A cranberry tart,
Pie, pudding and nuts, had Jack Horner—
And plenty of plums
For both his thumbs!
Ah! table is better than corner,
Little Jack Horner!
Clara Doty Bates.