All in their nest in the old pine-tree.

Wisely the mother begins, by and by,
To make her young ones learn to fly;
Just for a little way over the brink,
Then back to the nest as quick as a wink:
And "Coo," say the little ones, "Coo," says she,
All in their nest in the old pine-tree.

Fast grow the young ones, day and night,
Till their wings are plumed for a longer flight;
Till unto them at the last draws nigh
The time when they all must say good-by:
Then "Coo," say the little ones, "Coo," says she,
And away they fly from the old pine-tree.

Unknown.

_The Other Side of the Sky_

A pool in a garden green,
And the sky hung over all;
Down to the water we lean--
What if I let you fall?

A little splash and a cry,
A little gap in the blue,
And you'd fall right into the sky--
Into the sky--and through.

What do you think they'd think?
How do you think they'd greet
A little wet baby in pink
Tumbling down at their feet?

I wonder if they'd be shy,
Those folk of the Far Away:
On the other side of the Sky,
Do you think you'd be asked to stay?

I think they would say--"No, no"
(Peeping down through a crack),
"For they seem to want her below,
And so we must send her back."

W. Graham Robertson.

_The Happy World_

The bee is a rover;
The brown bee is gay;
To feed on the clover,
He passes this way.
Brown bee, humming over,
What is it you say?
"The world is so happy--so happy to-day!"

The martens have nested
All under the eaves;
The field-mice have jested
And played in the sheaves;
We have played, too, and rested,
And none of us grieves,
All over the wide world, who is it that grieves?

William Brighty Rands.

_Come, Little Leaves_

"Come, little leaves," said the wind one day.
"Come over the meadows with me and play;
Put on your dresses of red and gold,
For summer is gone and the days grow cold."

Soon as the leaves heard the wind's loud call,
Down they came fluttering, one and all;
Over the brown fields they danced and flew,
Singing the sweet little song they knew.