The Toys in the Cupboard
The toys in the cupboard were terribly angry,
The toys in the cupboard were mad as could be,
For Patty had jumbled them roughly together,
And left them from breakfast till afternoon tea.
Said Doll, “It’s disgraceful, I shall not endure it,
I’ve lain on the engine along with the top.”
Said Duck, “It’s prepost’rous, I’ll send a complaint in,
I lay on the ball and the rubber went pop.”
Said Horse, “Here’s a pickle, I sat on Eliza,
Her face is all scratched and her eye is pushed in.”
Said Lamb, “Here’s a muddle, my tail’s in the tea-pot,
I can’t get it out, and it pricks like a pin.”
Said Cow, “It is shocking, my horn’s in the trumpet,
And Sambo is squashed underneath me, I know.”
Said Book, “I am lying all twisted and crumpled,
A drum is on top and the ink-pot below.”
When Patty came in she was terribly frightened,
The cupboard was moving about, she was sure,
She heard angry voices, “It’s perfectly awful,
It’s simply disgraceful—I cannot endure.”
She straightened the cupboard, put toys in their places,
She brushed out the Doll’s hair, and smoothed down the Horse,
She took the soft tail of the Lamb from the teapot,
And tenderly cared for the others, of course.
The toys in the cupboard were pleased and contented,
No longer they grumbled, no longer they wept,
For Patty had learned a most wonderful lesson,
And now the toy cupboard is splendidly kept.