Over in the Meadow

Over in the meadow,

In the sand, in the sun,

Lived an old mother-toad

And her little toadie one,

"Wink!" said the mother;

"I wink," said the one:

So she winked and she blinked,

In the sand, in the sun.

Over in the meadow,

Where the stream runs blue;

Lived an old mother-fish

And her little fishes two.

"Swim!" said the mother;

"We swim," said the two:

So they swam and they leaped,

Where the stream runs blue.

Over in the meadow,

In a hole in a tree,

Lived a mother-bluebird

And her little bluebirds three.

"Sing!" said the mother;

"We sing," said the three:

So they sang and were glad,

In the hole in the tree.

Over in the meadow,

In the reeds on the shore;

Lived a mother-muskrat

And her little muskrats four.

"Dive!" said the mother;

"We dive," said the four:

So they dived and they burrowed,

In the reeds on the shore.

Over in the meadow,

In a snug beehive,

Lived a mother-honeybee

And her little honeys five.

"Buzz!" said the mother;

"We buzz," said the five:

So they buzzed and they hummed,

In the snug beehive.

Over in the meadow

In a nest built of sticks,

Lived a black mother crow

And her little crows six.

"Caw!" said the mother;

"We caw," said the six:

So they cawed and they called,

In their nest built of sticks.

Over in the meadow,

Where the grass is so even,

Lived a gay mother-cricket

And her little crickets seven.

"Chirp!" said the mother;

"We chirp," said the seven:

So they chirped cheery notes

In the grass soft and even.

Over in the meadow

By the old mossy gate,

Lived a brown mother-lizard

And her little lizards eight.

"Bask!" said the mother;

"We bask," said the eight:

So they basked in the sun,

On the old mossy gate,

Over in the meadow,

Where the clear pools shine,

Lived a green mother-frog

And her little froggies nine.

"Croak!" said the mother;

"We croak!" said the nine:

So they croaked and they plashed,

Where the clear pools shine.

Over in the meadow,

In a sly little den,

Lived a gray mother-spider

And her little spiders ten.

"Spin!" said the mother;

"We spin," said the ten:

So they spun lace webs,

In their sly little den.

Over in the meadow,

In the soft summer even,

Lived a mother firefly

And her little flies eleven.

"Glow," said the mother;

"We glow," said the eleven—

So they glowed like stars

In the soft summer even.

Over in the meadow,

Where the men dig and delve

Lived a wise mother ant,

And her little ants twelve.

"Toil," said the mother;

"We toil," said the twelve—

So they toiled and were wise

Where the men dig and delve.