Mother Goose
“Mamma,” said our Sue,
“You sent me to-day,
Up stairs with the nurse
And Willie to play.
“And I told her I thought
It was wicked and silly,
To say things like these
To our dear little Willy—
“‘Oh, hi-diddle,
Diddle,
The cat has the
Fiddle,
The cow has jumped
Over the moon,
The little dog laughed
To see all the sport,
And the dish ran away
With the spoon.’
“Nurse says she has found
The book of great use,
For children are pleased
To hear Mother Goose.
“Now, is it not wrong
To tell them a lie?
If not, I am sure
I cannot see why.”
“I think you are right,”
Her mother replied;
“Nurse must try to amuse him
With something beside.
“But babies are pleased
With the jingle of rhyme,
And old Mother Goose
Has been used a long time.
“We must find Wee-Wee Songs,
That are not quite so silly,
And buy them for nurse,
To amuse little Willy.
“We give him, each day,
Fresh milk and sweet bread,
And his dear little mind
Must be properly fed.
“’Tis not easy to find
Sweet thoughts, good and true,
In nursery rhymes;
I wish, my dear Sue,
That those who love Jesus
Would oftener read
Those sweet words he uttered,
My lambs ye must feed!1
“For this beautiful world,
So joyous and bright,
Has so many things
Of which poets might write.
“The blue sky above us,
The flowers and the trees,
The warbling of birds,
And the hum of the bees.
“These bright thoughts would give
Our darling great pleasure,
If written in simple,
And sweet-flowing measure.