COBBLER AND STORK

69

And one is childless now;

He wears a crown and rules a town

Only a cobbler thou!

Wouldst thou exchange thy lot

At price of such a woe?

I'll nest no more above thy door,
But, as thou bidst me, go.

Cobbler.

Nay, stork! thou shalt remain
I mean not what I said;
Good neighbors we must always be,
So make thy home o'erhead.
I would not change my bench
For any monarch's throne,

Nor sacrifice at any price

My darling and my own:

Stork! on my roof-tree bide,
That, seeing thee anear,

I'll thankful be God sent by thee
Me and my darling here!

"LOLLYBY, LOLLY, LOLLYBY"

AST night, whiles that the curfew bell ben

LAST

ringing,

I heard a moder to her dearie singing

"Lollyby, lolly, lollyby";

And presently that chylde did cease hys weeping, And on his moder's breast did fall a-sleeping To "lolly, lolly, lollyby."

Faire ben the chylde unto his moder clinging, But fairer yet the moder's gentle singing"Lollyby, lolly, lollyby";

And angels came and kisst the dearie smiling In dreems while him hys moder ben beguiling With "lolly, lolly, lollyby."

"LOLLYBY, LOLLY, LOLLYBY"

71

Then to my harte saies I: "Oh, that thy

beating

Colde be assuaged by some sweete voice re

peating

'Lollyby, lolly, lollyby';

That like this lyttel chylde I, too, ben sleeping With plaisaunt phantasies about me creeping, To 'lolly, lolly, lollyby'!"

Some time-mayhap when curfew bells are ringing

A weary harte shall heare straunge voices singing

66

"Lollyby, lolly, lollyby";

Some time, mayhap, with Chryst's love round

me streaming,

I shall be lulled into eternal dreeming,

With "lolly, lolly, lollyby."

I

LIZZIE AND THE BABY

WONDER ef all wimmin air

Like Lizzie is when we go out
To theaters an' concerts where

Is things the papers talk about.
Do other wimmin fret an' stew
Like they wuz bein' crucified-
Frettin' a show or concert through,
With wonderin' ef the baby cried?

Now Lizzie knows that gran'ma 's there
To see that everything is right,
Yet Lizzie thinks that gran'ma's care
Ain't good enuff f'r baby, quite;
Yet what am I to answer when
She kind uv fidgets at my side,
An' asks me every now and then:
"I wonder if the baby cried ?”

LIZZIE AND THE BABY

Seems like she seen two little eyes
A-pinin' f'r their mother's smile-
Seems like she heern the pleadin' cries
Uv one she thinks uv all the while;
An' so she 's sorry that she come,

An' though she allus tries to hide
The truth, she 'd ruther stay to hum
Than wonder ef the baby cried.

Yes, wimmin folks is all alike-
By Lizzie you kin jedge the rest;
There never wuz a little tyke,

But that his mother loved him best. And nex' to bein' what I be

The husband uv my gentle brideI'd wisht I wuz that croodlin' wee,

With Lizzie wonderin' ef I cried.

73