The Chestnut Burr

A wee little nut lay deep in its nest

Of satin and brown, the softest and best,

And slept and grew while its cradle rocked,

As it hung in the boughs that interlocked.

Now the house was small where the cradle lay,

As it swung in the winds by night and day;

For the thicket of underbrush fenced it round,

This lone little cot by the great sun browned.

This little nut grew, and ere long it found

There was work outside on the soft green ground;

It must do its part so the world might know

It had tried one little seed to sow.

And soon the house that had kept it warm

Was tossed about by the autumn storm,

The stem was cracked, the old house fell,

And the chestnut burr was an empty shell.

But the little nut, as it waiting lay,

Dreamed a wonderful dream one day,

Of how it should break its coat of brown,

And live as a tree, to grow up and down.