The Frog

 The Frog
by Hilaire Belloc

Be kind and tender to the Frog,
And do not call him names,
As "Slimy-skin," or "Pollywog,"
Or likewise "Uncle James,"
Or "Gape'a'grin," or "Toad'gone'wrong,"
Or "Billy -Bandy Knees":
The frog is justly sensitive
To epithets like these.
No animal will more repay
A treatment kind and fair,
At least so lonely people say
Who keep a frog (and by the way,
They are extremely rare) .

Squid

 Squid

The ''Squid'' is just a cuttlefish. Ten arms that squirm and fuss
Instead of eight make him a squid and not an octopus.
To hide himself from enemies, he turns the water black
By giving forth an ink stain out of a special sac.
'Tis said that ancient mariners in their simplicity
Mistook this squirming creature for a ''Serpent of the Sea.''
His tail was taken for a head, his inky track for smoke;
So those ''sea serpent'' tales were not entirely a joke.

Danny Duck

 Danny Duck

Danny Duck, the dandy duck
Went walking down the lane.
Then Danny Duck got tired, so
He walked right home again.

Brenda's Easter Visit

        ''Her name is Brenda,'' said daddy, ''and when I saw her yesterday she told me that every year at Easter time she went to the head nurse of the big hospital and found out the names of all the children. Then she went shopping, and it took her a long time to pick out things for little sick children. She picked out for each child a big round chocolate egg which rattled, for inside it there were little sugar candies; also a chocolate chicken and a chocolate bunny. She always picked out ones that had lots of expression too. Around the egg she tied a big red ribbon, around the chocolate chicken's neck she tied a bright green ribbon, around the bunny's neck she tied a bright purple ribbon. Then she put them in a little box and wrote on the box the child's name.

       ''Last year Brenda went to the hospital the day before Easter. It was far from being a pleasant day. There was a cold wind in the air and no sun.

       ''She arrived at the hospital just as all the little children had had their wounds dressed. They were lying in their little white cots trying to keep back the tears that wanted to come.

       ''Brenda asked the nurse if she could go inside with the gifts.

        The child's name in the first cot,' continued the nurse very softly, is Elsa. She has hurt her back, and no one knows how long she will have to lie there.'

       '' 'Elsa,' said Brenda, 'happy Easter. A little chocolate bunny, a little chocolate chicken and a big chocolate egg all said they wanted to wish you a happy Easter.'

       ''Elsa opened her half shut eyes and clutched the box. She opened it eagerly. There they all were! And the chocolate bunny did have the funniest expression! He would have made any one laugh, and his purple ribbon bow was sticking way up on one side with such a saucy expression. Elsa burst out laughing. Afterward the nurse told Brenda it was the first time she's seen Elsa laugh since she'd been brought to the hospital.

       ''Then Brenda took the rest of her boxes around to all the other little sick children. And such happiness as there was in the ward!''

A Wag or Two More for You

 A Wag or Two More for You

The world is glad to-day--
All of the world --let's play!

Along the juicy grass
The good smells pass.

The little leaves all make
New noises as they shake
And twinkle in the sun.
Smooth shadows slide and run.

The buzzing bugs whiz by;
The trees play with the sky;
Oh, you, let's run!
Let's scratch and sniff and dig
Where holes are dark and big!
Come, come let's run!
Oh, Boy, what fun!

That's how I feel to-day.
Oh, Children mine, come play!

Your Dog Friend

Winter Trees

        ''All the winter things,'' said daddy, ''such as the cold Winds, the Snow and the Ice told the Pine Trees and the Fir Treesand the Spruce Trees how much they liked them.

       ''I will tell you a secret,'' said the Pine Tree.

       '' 'Yes,'' said the Snow, as it nestled closer to the branches of the big tree.

       ''Years and years and years ago, I talked to my family about dropping off in the Winter-time. We never got any further than talking about it, for just as I had said, ''Well, and what do you think of the scheme?'' some of the Snow Flakes came and rested on our branches.

       '' 'Oh,'' they said, ''you're so much nicer than the branches without any leaves. There we have to fill up the corners, but with you we can nestle down.''

       '' 'The North Wind told us,' continued the Pine Tree, 'that it was such a joy to have a good strong tree around that wouldn't feel hurt if he played about and had a good time. And so we discovered how much the North Wind liked us.

       '' 'Then,' said the Pine Tree, 'we heard the Grown-Ups. They said what a comfort it was to have some green trees in the Winter and they said how horrible it would be if every tree were quite bare and ugly. And then came the Children. They walked through the woods one snowy day and they stopped to look up at us. 'Ah, how tall those trees are. And how warm it is in these woods. Our favorite trees are the Winter Trees - the Spruce Trees, the Fir Trees, the Pine Trees.''

       '' 'Now do you understand how we have to be as fine looking in the Winter as in the Spring?' And the Snow understood.''

Appetites

Appetites by John Martin

Appetites are ready;
Paws and whiskers clean.
Frocks and panties tidy,
As is plainly seen.
Cricket is a-chirping,
Silver is the moon.
Very, very hungry,
Muff and Fluffy Coon.

Supper's nearly ready;
We are ready, too.
Smell the most delicious
Most delightful stew.
Hear the tinkle, tinkle
Of the stirring spoon.
Just a bit impatient--
Muff and Fluffy Coon.

Now look at the picture,
See if you don't see
Two wee tots as hungry
As wee tots can be.
Keep on looking closely;
Very, very soon
You will see a happy
Muff and Fluffy Coon.