--_Robert Louis Stevenson._

THREE COMPANIONS.

We go on our walk together--
Baby and dog and I--
Three little merry companions,
'Neath any sort of sky:
Blue as our baby's eyes are,
Gray like our old dog's tail;
Be it windy or cloudy or stormy,
Our courage will never fail.

Baby's a little lady;
Dog is a gentleman brave;
If he had two legs as you have,
He'd kneel to her like a slave;
As it is, he loves and protects her,
As dog and gentleman can.
I'd rather be a kind doggie,
I think, than a cruel man.

--_Dinah Mulock-Craik._

THE WIND.

I saw you toss the kites on high,
And blow the birds about the sky;
And all around I heard you pass
Like ladies' skirts across the grass--
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!

I saw the different things you did,
But always you yourself you hid.
I felt you push, I heard you call,
I could not see yourself at all--
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!

O you, that are so strong and cold,
O blower, are you young or old?
Are you a beast of field and tree,
Or just a stronger child than me?
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!

--_Robert Louis Stevenson._

Hearts like doors can open with ease
To very, very little keys;
And ne'er forget that they are these:
"I thank you, sir," and "If you please."

--_Sel._

THE MINUET.[1]

Grandma told me all about it,
Told me so I couldn't doubt it,
How she danced, my grandma danced; long ago--
How she held her pretty head,
How her dainty skirt she spread,
How she slowly leaned and rose--long ago.

Grandma's hair was bright and sunny,
Dimpled cheeks, too, oh, how funny!
Really quite a pretty girl--long ago.
Bless her! why, she wears a cap,
Grandma does and takes a nap
Every single day: and yet
Grandma danced the minuet--long ago.

"Modern ways are quite alarming,"
Grandma says, "but boys were charming"
(Girls and boys she means of course) "long ago."
Brave but modest, grandly shy;
She would like to have us try
Just to feel like those who met
In the graceful minuet--long ago.

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