THE JUNE ROSES.
Reading edition
BY MARY D. BRINE.
Oh, the red roses, the pretty red roses, That come with the June-time so fragrant and fair— The sweet crimson roses that bud and that blossom So joyously out in the soft summer air! Under the hedges and over the hedges, Out in the meadows, and down in the lane, Blushing and blooming and clinging and nestling, Grow the sweet roses again and again. Beautiful, are they? But I have some fairer, And, oh, so much sweeter! Look yonder, and see The cluster of rose-buds, than none e'er grew rosier— The freshest and daintiest of rose-buds for me. The little white sun-bonnets—go, peep beneath them; Mark the bright faces, where through the glad day The breezes and sunbeams lay kisses in plenty, And dimples and smiles chase each other in play. Three little maidens so dainty and rosy, Three little sun-bonnets all in a row, Six little hands that are merrily twining Crimson-red wreaths where the June roses grow. Oh, how they welcome the bright smiling weather, My little rose-buds that blossom for me! And I tumble them out in the sunshine together, And help them grow sweet as June roses should be.