Kindergarten Read Aloud Banquet

Nursery Songs for April

If All the World Were Paper



The Little Cock Sparrow



Ye Song of Sixpence



My Lady's Garden

A Child's Garden of Verses

Good and Bad Children

Children, you are very little,

And your bones are very brittle;

If you would grow great and stately,

You must try to walk sedately.


You must still be bright and quiet,

And content with simple diet;

And remain, through all bewild'ring,

Innocent and honest children.


Happy hearts and happy faces,

Happy play in grassy places—

That was how, in ancient ages,

Children grew to kings and sages.


But the unkind and the unruly,

And the sort who eat unduly,

They must never hope for glory—

Theirs is quite a different story!


Cruel children, crying babies,

All grow up as geese and gabies,

Hated, as their age increases,

By their nephews and their nieces.

  Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Week 21 Granny Fox Has a Terrible Scare A Rainy Day Why the Morning-Glory Climbs The Young Robin Who Was Afraid To Fly The Open Gate The Cow Story Jeremiah, the Prophet
A Strange Old Woman Willie Boy Sleep, Baby, Sleep Little Tom Tucker Cry, Baby Baa, Baa, Black Sheep Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
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Old Old Tales Retold  by Frederick Richardson
[Illustration]

dropcap image ONG, long ago an old hen and her one little chicken went into the woods. The little chicken was named Tuppens. Scratch, scratch, they were busy all day among the leaves finding seeds to eat.

"Do not eat the big seeds," said the old hen to Little Tuppens, "for they will make you cough."

But by and by little Tuppens found a big seed and ate it. Then little Tuppens began to cough. The old hen was frightened at this and ran to the spring. She said:

"Please, spring, give me some water,

Little Tuppens is coughing."

[Illustration]

The spring said:

"Get me a cup and then I will give you some water."

The old hen ran to the oak-tree and said:

"Please, oak-tree, give me a cup;

Then the spring will give me some water.

Little Tuppens is coughing."

The oak-tree said:

"Shake me. Then I will give you a cup."

The old hen ran to the little boy and said:

"Please, little boy, shake the oak-tree;

Then the oak-tree will give me a cup;

And the spring will give me some water.

Little Tuppens is coughing."

[Illustration]

The little boy said:

"Give me some shoes. Then I can shake the oak-tree for you."

The old hen ran to the shoe-maker and said:

"Please, good shoe-maker, give me some shoes for the little boy;

Then the little boy will shake the oak-tree;

And the oak-tree will give me a cup;

And the spring will give me some water.

Little Tuppens is coughing."

The shoe-maker said:

"Get me some leather and then I will make some shoes for the little boy."

The old hen ran to the cow and said:

"Please, cow, give me some leather;

Then the shoe-maker will make shoes for the little boy;

And the little boy will shake the oak-tree;

And the oak-tree will give me a cup;

And the spring will give me some water.

Little Tuppens is coughing."

[Illustration]

The cow said:

"Get me some corn and then I will give you some leather."

[Illustration]

The old hen ran to the farmer and said:

"Please, good farmer, give me corn for the cow;

Then the cow will give me some leather for the shoe-maker;

And the shoe-maker will make shoes for the little boy;

And the little boy will shake the oak-tree;

And the oak-tree will give me a cup;

And the spring will give me some water.

Little Tuppens is coughing."

[Illustration]

The farmer said:

"Get me a plow and then I can give you some corn."

The old hen ran to the blacksmith and said:

"Please, good blacksmith, give me a plow for the farmer;

Then the farmer will give me some corn for the cow;

And the cow will give me some leather for the shoe-maker;

And the shoe-maker will give me some shoes for the little boy;

And the little boy will shake the oak-tree;

And the oak-tree will give me a cup;

And the spring will give me some water;

Little Tuppens is coughing."

[Illustration]

The blacksmith said:

"Get me some iron and then I can give you a plow."

The old hen ran to the dwarfs and asked for some iron for the blacksmith.


[Illustration]

When she had told her story about Little Tuppens to the dwarfs, they wanted to help. They went into their cave and brought out some iron for the blacksmith.

Then the blacksmith made a plow for the farmer;

And the farmer gave some corn for the cow;

And the cow gave some leather for the shoe-maker;

And the shoe-maker made some shoes for the little boy;

And the little boy shook the oak-tree;

And the oak-tree gave a cup;

And the spring gave some water;

And the old hen gave the water to Little Tuppens

And Little Tuppens stopped coughing.

[Illustration]