Come, cuddle close in Daddy"s coat, Beside the fire so bright,And hear about the fairy folk That wander in the night;For, when the stars are shining clear, And all the world is still,They float across the silver moon, From hill to cloudy hill.
Their caps of red, their cloaks of green, Are hung with silver bells;And, when they"re shaken with the wind, Their merry ringing swells;And, riding on the crimson moth With black spots on her wings,They guide them down the purple sky With golden bridle rings.
They love to visit girls and boys, To see how sweet they sleep,To stand beside their cosy cots, And at their faces peep;For, in the whole of Fairyland, They have no finer sightThan little children sleeping sound, With faces rosy bright.
On tip-toe crowding round their heads, When bright the moonlight beams,They whisper little tender words That fill their minds with dreams;And, when they see a sunny smile, With lightest finger-tipsThey lay a hundred kisses sweet Upon the ruddy lips.
And then the little spotted moths Spread out their crimson wings,And bear away the fairy crowd, With shaking bridle rings.
Come, bairnies, hide in Daddy"s coat, Beside the fire so bright;Perhaps the little fairy folk Will visit you to-night.
- Robert Bird
Author.-Robert Bird, an American novelist and poet, was born in 1803; he died in 1895.
General Notes.-Where did the fairies go? When? How were they dressed? On what did they ride? Whom did they visit? Why? What do they whisper? What do they do then?