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The two little skeezucks once heard of a Fair

Far off from their native isle,

And they asked of King Fan if they mightn't go there
To take in the sights for awhile.
Now old King Fan

Was a good-natured man

(As good-natured monarchs go),

And howbeit he swore that all Fairs were a bore,

He hadn't the heart to say "No."

So the two little skeezucks sailed off to the Fair

In a great big gum canoe,

And I fancy they had a good time there,

For they tarried a year or two.

And old King Fan at last began
To reckon they 'd come to grief,
When glory! one day

They sailed into the bay

To the tune of "Hail to the Chief!"

The two little skeezucks fell down on the sand,
Embracing his majesty's toes,

Till his majesty graciously bade them stand
And salute him nose to nose.

And then quoth he:

"Divulge unto me

What happenings have hapt to you;
And how did they dare to indulge in a Fair
So far from the island of Boo?"

The two little skeezucks assured their king
That what he surmised was true;

That the Fair would have been a different thing
Had it only been held in Boo!

THE TWO LITTLE SKEEZUCKS

"The folk over there in no wise compare
With the folk of the southern seas;

Why, they comb out their heads
And they sleep in beds

Instead of in caverns and trees!"

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The two little skeezucks went on to say
That children (so far as they knew)
Had a much harder time in that land far away
Than here in the island of Boo!
They have to wear clo'es

Which (as every one knows)

Are irksome to primitive laddies,

While, with forks and with spoons, they 're denied the sweet boons

That accrue from free use of one's paddies!

"And now that you 're speaking of things to eat,"

Interrupted the monarch of Boo,

"We beg to inquire if you happened to meet

With a nice missionary or two?"

"No, that we did not; in that curious spot Where were gathered the fruits of the earth, Of that special kind

Which Your Nibs has in mind

There appeared a deplorable dearth!"

Then loud laughed that monarch in heathenish mirth
And loud laughed his courtiers, too,

And they cried: "There is elsewhere no land upon earth
So good as our island of Boo!"

And the skeezucks, tho' glad

Of the journey they'd had,

Climbed up in their cocoanut trees,

Where they still may be seen with no shirts to keep clean Or trousers that bag at the knees.

THE BOW-LEG BOY

WHO should come up the road one day
But the doctor-man in his two-wheel shay!
And he whoaed his horse and he cried "Ahoy!
I have brought you folks a bow-leg boy!
Such a cute little boy!

Such a funny little boy!

Such a dear little bow-leg boy!"

He took out his box and he opened it wide,
And there was the bow-leg boy inside!
And when they saw that cunning little mite,
They cried in a chorus expressive of delight:
"What a cute little boy!

What a funny little boy!

What a dear little bow-leg boy!"

Observing a strict geometrical law,

They cut out his panties with a circular saw;
Which gave such a stress to his oval stride
That the people he met invariably cried:
"What a cute little boy!

What a funny little boy!

What a dear little bow-leg boy!"

They gave him a wheel and away he went

Speeding along to his heart's content;

And he sits so straight and he pedals so strong That the folks all say as he bowls along:

"What a cute little boy!

What a funny little boy!

What a dear little bow-leg boy!"

THE BOW-LEG BOY

With his eyes aflame and his cheeks aglow,
He laughs "aha" and he laughs "oho";

And the world is filled and thrilled with the joy
Of that jolly little human, the bow-leg boy-
The cute little boy!

The funny little boy!

The dear little bow-leg boy!

If ever the doctor-man comes my way
With his wonderful box in his two-wheel shay,
I'll ask for the treasure I'd fain possess-
Now, honest Injun! can't you guess?
Why, a cute little boy-

A funny little boy

A dear little bow-leg boy!

349

ECHOES FROM THE SABINE FARM

BY EUGENE AND ROSWELL MARTIN FIELD

TO M. L. GRAY

(DEDICATION)

COME, dear old friend, and with us twain
To calm Digentian groves repair;
The turtle coos his sweet refrain
And posies are a-blooming there;
And there the romping Sabine girls
Bind myrtle in their lustrous curls.

I know a certain ilex-tree

Whence leaps a fountain cool and clear.
Its voices summon you and me;

Come, let us haste to share its cheer!
Methinks the rapturous song it sings

Should woo our thoughts from mortal things.

But, good old friend, I charge thee well,
Watch thou my brother all the while,
Lest some fair Lydia cast her spell

Round him unschooled in female guile.
Those damsels have no charms for me;
Guard thou that brother,-I'll guard thee!

And, lo, sweet friend! behold this cup,
Round which the garlands intertwine;
With Massic it is foaming up,

And we would drink to thee and thine.
And of the draught thou shalt partake,
Who lov'st us for our father's sak

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