The hollow winds begin to blow;
The clouds look black; the glass is low;
The soot falls down; the spaniels sleep; And spiders from their cobwebs creep.
Last night, the sun went pale to bed; The moon in halos hid her head.
The boding shepherd heaves a sigh, For, see, a rainbow spans the sky.
The walls are damp; the ditches smell; Closed is the pink-eyed pimpernel.
Hark how the chairs and tables crack! Old Betty"s joints are on the rack.
Loud quack the ducks; the peacocks cry : The distant hills are looking nigh.
How restless are the snorting swine! The busy flies disturb the kine.
Low o"er the grass the swallow wings; The cricket, too, how sharp he sings.
Puss, on the hearth, with velvet paws, Sits wiping o"er her whiskered jaws.
Through the clear stream the fishes rise, And nimbly catch the incautious flies.
The glow-worms, numerous and bright, Illumed the dewy dell last night.
At dusk, the squalid toad was seen, Hopping and crawling o"er the green.
The whirling wind the dust obeys, And in the rapid eddy plays.
The frog has changed his yellow vest, And in a russet coat is drest.
My dog, so altered in his taste,
Quits mutton bones, on grass to feast.
And see yon rooks, how odd their flight- They imitate the gliding kite,And headlong downward seem to fall As if they felt the piercing ball.
"Twill surely rain: I see with sorrow, Our jaunt must be put off to-morrow.
Edward Jenner
Author.-Edward Jenner (1749-1843) was an English physician; he was the discoverer of vaccination.
General.-How many signs of rain are mentioned? Can you suggestany sign that is not mentioned? If so, try to make a rhymed couplet in the style of the poem. Are any birds mentioned that are not found in Australia? What one line shows that the poem might have been written by a doctor?