The Worm

AS Sally sat upon the ground,

A little crawling worm she found

Among the garden dirt;

And when she saw the worm she scream'd,
And ran away and cried, and seem'd
As if she had been hurt.

Mamma, afraid some serious harm
Made Sally scream, was in alarm,
And left the parlour then ;

But when the cause she came to learn,
She bade her daughter back return,
To see the worm again.

The worm they found kept writhing round,
Until it sank beneath the ground;

And Sally learned that day,

That worms are very harmless things,

With neither teeth, nor claws, nor stings
To frighten her away.

Elizabeth Turner.

The Sash

MAMMA had ordered Ann, the maid,

Miss Caroline to wash;

And put on with her clean white frock,
A handsome muslin sash.

But Caroline began to cry,

For what you cannot think:
She said, "Oh, that's an ugly sash;
I'll have my pretty pink."

Papa, who in the parlour heard
Her make the noise and rout,

That instant went to Caroline,

To whip her, there's no doubt.

Elizabeth Turner.

The Lost Pudding

MISS Kitty was rude at the table one day,

And would not sit still on her seat;

Regardless of all that her mother could say,
From her chair little Kitty kept running away
All the time they were eating their meat.

As soon as she saw that the beef was remov'd,
She ran to her chair in great haste;
But her mother such giddy behaviour reprov'd
By sending away the sweet pudding she lov'd,
Without giving Kitty one taste.

Elizabeth Turner.

The Hoyden

MISS Agnes had two or three dolls, and a box

To hold all her bonnets and tippets and frocks; In a red leather thread-case that snapp'd when it shut, She had needles to sew with and scissors to cut; But Agnes lik'd better to play with rude boys, Than work with her needle, or play with her toys.

Young ladies should always appear neat and clean,
Yet Agnes was seldom dress'd fit to be seen.
I saw her one morning attempting to throw
A very large stone, when it fell on her toe:

The boys who were present, and saw what was done,
Set up a loud laugh, and they call'd it fine fun.

But I took her home, and the doctor soon came,
And Agnes, I fear, will a long time be lame;
And from morning till night she laments very much,
That now when she walks she must lean on a crutch;
And she told her dear father, a thousand times o'er,
That she never will play with rude boys any more.
Elizabeth Turner.

The Dizzy Girl

S Frances was playing and turning around, Her head grew so giddy she fell to the ground 'Twas well that she was not much hurt;

But, O what a pity! her frock was so soil'd
That had you beheld the unfortunate child,
You had seen her all cover'd with dirt.

Her mother was sorry, and said, "Do not cry,
And Mary shall wash you, and make you quite dry,
If you'll promise to turn round no more."
"What, not in the parlour ?" the little girl said.
"No, not in the parlour; for lately I read
Of a girl who was hurt with the door.

"She was playing and turning, until her poor head
Fell against the hard door, and it very much bled:
And I heard Dr. Camomile tell,

That he put on a plaster, and cover'd it up;
Then he gave her some tea that was bitter to sup,
Or perhaps it had never been well."

Elizabeth Turner.

The Giddy Girl

MISS Helen was always too giddy to heed

What her mother had told her to shun; For frequently, over the street in full speed, She would cross where the carriages run.

And out she would go to a very deep well,
To look at the water below;

How naughty! to run to a dangerous well,

Where her mother forbade her to go!

One morning, intending to take but one peep,
Her foot slipp'd away from the ground;
Unhappy misfortune! the water was deep,
And giddy Miss Helen was drown'd.

Elizabeth Turner.

Ambitious Sophy

MISS Sophy, one fine sunny day,

Left her work and ran away;

When soon she reach'd the garden-gate,
Which finding lock'd, she would not wait,
But tried to climb and scramble o'er
A gate as high as any door.

But little girls should never climb,
And Sophy won't another time;
For when, upon the highest rail,
Her frock was caught upon a nail,

She lost her hold, and, sad to tell,

Was hurt and bruised-for down she fell.

Poisonous Fruit

As

S Tommy and his sister Jane

Were walking down a shady lane,

They saw some berries, bright and red,

That hung around and over head ;

Elizabeth Turner.