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

Foreign Lands

Up into the cherry tree

Who should climb but little me?

I held the trunk with both my hands

And looked abroad on foreign lands.


I saw the next door garden lie,

Adorned with flowers, before my eye,

And many pleasant places more

That I had never seen before.


I saw the dimpling river pass

And be the sky's blue looking-glass;

The dusty roads go up and down

With people tramping in to town.


If I could find a higher tree

Farther and farther I should see,

To where the grown-up river slips

Into the sea among the ships,


To where the roads on either hand

Lead onward into fairy land,

Where all the children dine at five,

And all the playthings come alive.

  Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Week 51 The Golden Cobwebs The Christmas Tree The Elves and the Shoemaker A Story of the Christ-Child The Story of Gretchen The Toy Farm The Holy Night
A Christmas Carol
Santa Claus
What Can I Give Him? 		A Christmas Carol Christmas Song Play Days Long, Long Ago
First row Previous row          Next row


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]