The Fox and the Grapes

One summer’s day a fox was passing through

A vineyard; faint he was and hungry too.

When suddenly his keen eye chanced to fall

Upon a bunch of grapes above the wall.

«Ha! Just the thing!» he said. «Who could resist it!»

He eyed the purple cluster – jumped – and missed it!

«Ahem!» he coughed. «I’ll take more careful aim.»

And sprang again. Result was much the same.

Although his leaps were desperate and high.

At length he paused to wipe a tearful eye,

And shrug a shoulder. «I am not so dry,

And lunch is bound to come within the hour…

Besides,» he said, «I am sure those grapes are sour.»

The moral is: We seem to want the peach

That always dangles just beyond our reach.

Yet, like the fox, we must not be upset

When sometimes things are just too hard to get.

Joseph Lauren

How Pussy Became Cat

An old man and his wife,

As the story goes,

Had a little black cat

With a little white nose:

A white white nose,

And black, black paws,

With white, white toes,

And black, black claws.

Said the husband to his wife:

«Pussy’s getting on in life.

We have fed him, we have tamed him.

But as yet we haven’t named him.

I think we ought

To call him «Cloud’.

Then he’ll grow up

Strong and proud,

Tall as the sky,

A very wonder,

With the purr

As loud as thunder.»

«No,» the old man’s wife objected,

«Clouds are not to be respected.

Wind can drive them anywhere,

They are quiet as light as air.

The wind is strong

And whistles loud.

Let’s call him «Wind’

Instead of «Cloud’.

«No,» said the man,

«The wind’s a breeze

That shakes the branches of the trees,

But cannot hurt a wall at all

So let us call our pussy «Wall’.»

«You must be growing deaf, old man!

Listen closely if you can:

Hear that scraping in the wall?

Hear those bits of something fall?

The mice are gnawing at our house.

So let us call our pussy «Mouse’.»

«Not at all,» replied the spouse.

«A cat is stronger than a mouse.

Cats eat mice,

We all know that.

So let us call our pussy «Cat!»

Two Little Kittens

Two little kittens one stormy night

Began to quarrel and then to fight;

One had a mouse, and other had none,

And that’s the way the quarrel began.

«I’ll have that mouse,» said the biggest cat.

«You’ll have that mouse? We’ll see about that!»

«I will have that mouse,» said the eldest son.

«You shan’t have the mouse,» said the little one.

I told you befor «twas a stormy night

When these two little kittens began to fight;

The old woman seized her sweeping broom

And swept the two kittens right out of the room.

The ground was covered with frost and snow,

And the two little kittens had nowhere to go;

So they laid them down on the mat at the door,

While old woman finished sweeping the floor.

Then they crept in, as quiet as mice,

All went with snow, and cold as ice,

For they found it was better, that stormy night,

To lie down and sleep than to quarrel and fight.

The House That Jack Built

This is the house that Jack built.

This is the carrot,

That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the rat,

That ate the carrot,

That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cat,

That chased the rat, that ate the carrot,

That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the dog that worried the cat,

That chased the rat, that ate the carrot,

That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cow with the crumbled horn,

That tossed the dog, that worried the cat,

That chased the rat, that ate the carrot,

That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the maiden all forlorn,

That milked the cow with the crumbled horn,

That tossed the dog, that worried the cat,

That chased the rat, that ate the carrot,

That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the man all tattered and torn,

That kissed the maiden all forlorn,

That milked the cow with the crumbled horn,

That tossed the dog, that worried the cat,

That chased the rat, that ate the carrot,

That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the priest all shaven and shorn,

That married the man all tattered and torn,

That kissed the maiden all forlorn,

That milked the cow with the crumbled horn,

That tossed the dog, that worried the cat,

That chased the rat, that ate the carrot,

That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the cock that crowed in the morn,

That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,

That married the man all tattered and torn,

That kissed the maiden all forlorn,

That milked the cow with the crumbled horn,

That tossed the dog, that worried the cat,

That chased the rat, that ate the carrot,

That lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the farmer sowing the corn,

That kept the cock that crowed in the morn,

That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,

That married the man all tattered and torn,

That kissed the maiden all forlorn,

That milked the cow with the crumbled horn,

That tossed the dog, that worried the cat,

That chased the rat, that ate the carrot,

That lay in the house that Jack built.

Old Mother Hubbard

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard,

To give her poor dog a bone.

But when she got there, her cupboard was bare;

And so the poor dog had none.

She went to the baker’s to buy him some bread;

When she got back, the dog was dead.

She went to the undertaker’s to buy him a coffin;

When she got back, the dog was a-laughing.

She took him a clean dish to get him some tripe;

When she came back, he was smoking a pipe.

She went to the hatter’s to buy him a hat;

When she came back, he was feeding the cat.

She went to the barber’s to buy him a wig;

When she came back, he was dancing a jig.

She went to the fruiterer’s to buy him some fruit;

When she came back, he was playing the flute.

She went to the tailor’s to buy him a coat.

When she came back, he was riding a goat.

She went to the cobbler’s to buy him some shoes;

When she came back, he was reading the news.

She went to the seamstress to buy him some linen;

When she came back, the dog was a-spinning

She went to the hosier’s to buy him some hose;

When she came back, he was dressed in his clothes.

The dame made a curtsy, the dog made a bow;

The dame said, «Your servant,» the dog said, «Bow-wow.»

The Gingerbread Man

(см. Рецепты)

Once there was a gingerbread man,

Baking in a gingerbread pan.

Raisin eyes and a cherry nose,

Trimmed right down to his fingers and toes.

A gingerbread man in a gingerbread pan!

Here’s the old woman who made him so sweet,

A treat for her and her husband to eat,

She made him with flour and sugar and eggs,

She made him a face and two arms and two legs.

A gingerbread man in a gingerbread pan!

Now open the oven to see if he’s done,

This gingerbread man, he knows how to run.

Out of the oven and onto the floor,

Now run away out of the kitchen door.

The gingerbread man, he’s out of the pan!

Now chase him old woman, now chase him old man

Chase him, yes chase him as fast as you can!

Through the garden and out of the gate,

Catch him right now, before it’s too late.

The gingerbread man, he’s out of the pan!

Along came the cow who wanted a treat

And the gingerbread man, he looked good to eat

Run, run, as fast as you can

You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man.

I’m the gingerbread man and I’m out of the pan!

Along came a horse who wanted a snack

But the gingerbread man, he never looked back

Run, run, as fast as you can

You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man.

I’m the gingerbread man and I’m out of the pan!

Along came a farmer who wanted a treat

And the gingerbread man, he looked good to eat

Run, run, as fast as you can

You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man

I’m the gingerbread man and I’m out of the pan!

Along came a dog who wanted a snack

But the gingerbread man, he never looked back

Run, run, as fast as you can

You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man

I’m the gingerbread man and I’m out of the pan!

Along came a hog who wanted a treat

And the gingerbread man, he looked good to eat

Run, run, as fast as you can

You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man

I’m the gingerbread man and I’m out of the pan!

Along came a fox who wanted a treat

And this gingerbread man, he looked good to eat

Jump on my back, my gingerbread pet,

And we’ll cross the river, so you won’t get wet

Mr. Gingerbread man, who’s out of the pan!

There was no place to go, there was no place to run

And a ride on the river could be lots of fun!

So off with the fox did Gingerbread go

And what happened next, you already know

To the gingerbread man, who’s out of the pan!

That sly old fox had a de-lic-ious treat

And the old man and woman had nothing to eat

Not a bite was left for the cow or the dog,

The horse or the farmer or the hungry old hog

There’s no gingerbread man in or out of the pan!

So let us go home and get out the pan,

And we’ll make ourselves a new gingerbread man!

And when he is eaten, we’ll make us some more.

But this time we’ll be certain to lock the back door!

A new gingerbread man in a gingerbread pan.

Dolly’s Doings

It’s dearest dolly’s washing day,

So I must get a tub.

I’ve no time left to talk or play,

But I must rub

and scrub,

And blue and starch

her things so fine

The same as Nursie

does to mine.

When darling dolly’s clothes are clean,

And dried and ironed out,

Then we’ll run to the fields so green,

And dance and play about.

But I’ll great care of dolly take

Lest she her frock

should dirty make.

A Little Tale

I’ll tell you the tale of a tiny maid

Who lost herself in an elfin glade,

Into the wood she wanted to go

All by herself, but Mother said NO!

However she went one afternoon,

And lost herself in the forest soon,

Then she sat down beneath a fir

And a rabbit came and peeped at her.

Yet was it a rabbit she saw – why no,

«Twas Mother, Mother who loved her so!

I Love Rain

I love rain – yes, wet, wet rain.

I peep outside and shout:

«Hip-hip hurray, another wet day;

It’s time that I went out!»

I love brollies and Wellington boots,

My mac and waterproof hood.

I love to shout and run about

Though no one thinks that I should.

All the others stay indoors

Until it stops again.

But ducks and me, we love to be

Puddling in the rain!

Rosemary Garland

Tying a Bow

Place your ribbon round the book,

Cross it – left end at the top;

Now the right end take and pass

Over, draw it tight, then stop.

With the right end make a loop.

Draw the left across it, so;

Now another loop we make

With the left, and pull it through.

The Months

January cold desolate;

February all dripping wet;

March wind ranges;

April changes;

Birds sing in tune

To flowers of May,

And sunny June

Brings longest day;

In scorched July

The storm-clouds fly

Lightning-torn

August bears corn.

September fruit;

In rough October

Earth must disrobe her;

Stars fall and shoot

In keen November;

And night is long

And cold is strong

In bleak December.

Christina Rossetti

At The Zoo

First I saw the white bear, then I saw the black;

Then I saw the camel with a hump upon his back;

Then I saw the grey wolf, with mutton in his maw;

Then I saw the wombat waddle in the straw;

Then I saw the elephant a-waving of his trunk;

Then I saw the monkeys-mercy, how unpleasantly they-smelt!

William Makepeace Thackeray

Caterpillar

Brown and furry

Caterpillar in a hurry,

Take your walk

To the shady leaf, or stalk,

Or what not,

Which may be the chosen spot.

No toad spy you,

Hovering bird of prey pass by you;

Spin and die,

To live again a butterfly.

Christina Rossetti