Josephine Pollard
Elfin Land
Published by Good Press, 2023
EAN 4066339535886
Table of Contents
THE MAN IN THE MOON
A Very Handsome Mermaid.
The Peacock’s Train.
THE DANCE ON THE BEACH
The Bee’s Mistake.
A Light Headed Family
The Sunflower Dance.
Seven Little Fairies.
Which Shall Win?
Little Dame Pansy.
Bad Luck.
A Very Polite Little Boy.
The Fan-Tribe.
A Lily-Race.
The Japanese Family
Tulips.
Pretty Little Nuns.
A Garden Party for Three.
Black-eyed Susan.
Very Æsthetic.
The Send Off.
Here and there and everywhere.
On the earth and in the air.
Sport a merry Elfin crew,
Ready for a romp with you.
Set your hearts and windows wide,
Let them in on every side.
And with this delightful band,
Take a stroll through Elfin-Land.
My lady wears a pretty train,
THAT REACHES FAR, AND STRETCHES WIDE,
AND SILK OR SATIN THOUGH IT BE,
THE WHOLE GRIMALKIN FAMILY
WILL CUT BEHIND AND TAKE A RIDE.
THE MAN IN THE MOON
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The man in the moon once had a wife,
And she was really the plague of his life.
They used to sail in a bright canoe,
From east to West, o’er the sky so blue.
But she was restless and he was rough,
And said he hadn’t half room enough.
One night in turning the boat around,
The woman fell out, and she was drowned.
And down in the lake she sails alone
In a lovely boat that is all her own!
A Very Handsome Mermaid.
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A very handsome mermaid,
Father neptune’s only daughter;
Has a very lovely bower.
All her own, beneath the water.
She has slaves to do her bidding;
All the big and little fishes,
Bring her jewels without number,
And prepare her dainty dishes.
We hear about her graceful form,
The charms with which she’s laden,
But no one yet has ever seen
This wonderful sea-maiden.
The Peacock’s Train.
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The peacock spreads his brilliant train,
And struts about with pride,
No other bird seems quite so vain,
In all the regions wide.
Each plume is like a sparkling gem,
Of rich and radiant dyes;
Some cherub must have painted them,
And all those shining eyes.
And if I had as fine a gown
As his, upon my word
I’d strut a little, up and down;
And be as vain a bird.
THE DANCE ON THE BEACH
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A star-fish stood on the sandy shore
To list to the seaside band.
As with rumble-tumble dash and roar
The waves swept over the land.
The man in the moon from his binnacle soon
Suspended the beacon-light.
“Aha!” cried the star-fish, full of glee,
“I’ll have a nice dance to-night!”
A jig and a hornpipe all alone
He danced to a lively tune.
And capered about with his shadow there
In the silvery light of the moon.
Then up came others by twos and twos,
Some of them real old salts.
Who danced the Polka, Virginia Reel,
And the new Society Waltz.
With twinkling feet they skipped about
Like elves on the shining sand,
And kept good time to the rhyme and chime
Of the famous seaside band.
They danced and capered, and skipped and tripped.
As merry as they could be,
Till the tide came up with a sudden rush
And swept them into the sea.
The Bee’s Mistake.
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A little girl by the name of Rose,
In a quiet corner sat.
When a honey-bee sailed round and round
The rim of her garden-hat.
Said the bee, “ah me! so sweet a flower
I haven’t beheld to-day!”
And he came so near to the pretty Rose,
That she screamed as she ran away.
A Light Headed Family
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I.
An excellent family, every one said,
But rather too airy and light in the head;
Why, it was a fact
Good judgment they lacked,
And many, yes, many were certainly cracked!
II.
There was Mrs. Henpen with a very stiff cap;
And Master Gooseloose—a remarkable chap;
And Mr. Foochoo
With a very long cue,
And Bo-peep, and Dorking, and little Boy-Blue.
III.
They made up a party to visit the moon,
Each member to furnish a private balloon;
They said, “We will fly
Along through the sky,
And anchor ourselves to the stars by and by.”
IV.
That they had any brains there is reason to doubt,
For the wind blew a gale on the day they set out,
And Foochoo, don’t you see,
Was caught fast in a tree!
Oh never was Chinaman madder than he!
V.
They wanted to stop, but they couldn’t, you know,
For, having once started, they just had to go;
And lightly they soared,
And strange countries explored.
But they hadn’t the least bit of ballast on board.
VI.
Now over the hills they went thumpety-thump!
’Gainst each other’s heads they went bumpety-bump!
Now here and now there,
But it didn’t much scare
This light-headed family, I do declare!
VII.
A furious gust blew them all in a bunch;
“How jolly!” cried Mrs. Henpen. “Let’s have lunch!”
Ah, she was too rash!
There soon was a crash!
And the light-headed family all went to smash!
