A Treasury of Verse for Little Children

A Good Thanksgiving

Said Old Gentleman Gay, “On a Thanksgiving Day,
If you want a good time, then give something away.”
So he sent a fat turkey to Shoemaker Price,
And the shoemaker said, “What a big bird! how nice!
And since a good dinner’s before me, I ought
To give poor Widow Lee the small chicken I bought.”

“This fine chicken, oh, see!” said the pleased Widow Lee,
“And the kindness that sent it, how precious to me!
I would like to make some one as happy as I—
I’ll give Washerwoman Biddy my big pumpkin pie.”
“And oh, sure,” Biddy said, “’tis the queen of all pies
Just to look at its yellow face gladdens my eyes.

Now it’s my turn, I think; and a sweet ginger cake
For the motherless Finigan children I’ll bake.”
“A sweet cake, all our own! ’Tis too good to be true!”
Said the Finigan children, Rose, Denny, and Hugh;
“It smells sweet of spice, and we’ll carry a slice
To poor little Lame Jake—who has nothing that’s nice.”

“Oh, I thank you, and thank you!” said little Lame Jake;
“Oh, what beautiful, beautiful, beautiful cake!
And oh, such a big slice! I will save all the crumbs,
And will give ’em to each little sparrow that comes!”
And the sparrows they twittered as if they would say,
Like Old Gentleman Gay, “On a Thanksgiving Day,

If you want a good time, then give something away.”

—Marian Douglas.
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Frontispiece: What the sun looks like when it’s asleep

A small boy kneels between two trees in a dark forest; behind him is a brown house. In front of him and beneath him is a great cave, brightly lit by the sleeping sun, who has taken the formof a man lying in bed with a beautific smile on [...] [more...]

Little Wee Men

The fairy folk climbing a hill made of clouds, and, beneath them, a fairy castle.

Initial Letter N

A decorative capital letter “N” with a child sitting inside it, hands on knees; it was used as a drop cap (dropped capital) at the start of a the poem, Snow in Town. [more...]

Snow in Town

The title for this poem show a boy gathering a snowball, and some houses with roofs covered in snow, and an old-fashioned lamp-post. [more...]

Friend in the Garden

A woodcut of a frog on a lily-pad.

Queen Mab

Queen Mab is a fairy with butterfly wings who brings dreams to people. She was described by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet I also made a version of Queen Mab with no words, and I also coloured in the lines to make a pretty fairy. [more...]

Queen Mab (version without the words)

Queen Mab is a fairy with butterfly wings who brings dreams to people. She was described by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet This is a version of Queen Mab with the writing removed, so you can use more easily. [more...]

If I had a broomstick 1

Illustration above the start of the poem “If I Had a Broomstick” showing a boy dreaming that he could fly on a broomstick. Maybe he was reading Harry Potter books? [more...]

Initial Letter I

A decorative capital letter “I” with a child peeking out from behind the letter; it was used as a drop cap (dropped capital) at the start of a paragraph. [more...]

If I had a Broomstick 2

A boy sits on a broomstick and flies high over a fantasy land of tall stone houses by the sea, He does not appear to be steering the broomstick: this is the sort of fantasy where you don’t have to do any work, but jest get carried along for a ride, but you don’t win any Quidditch games this way! There is an [...] [more...]

Initial Letter S

A decorative drop-cap (initial letter) “S” from the poem “A Good Thankgiving Day.” A woman carries either a milking yoke or a hockey stick. [more...]