MR. THREE O’CLOCK’S INVITATION

“Oh, it’s very kind,” said the little boy,

“To spend your time on me,

And your arguments certainly have great force

As any sane boy can see,

And if I were an hour, you’re just the one

I’m sure that I’d like to be.

“But I probably do not appreciate,

As I sit on that little stool,

The regard that other boys have for you,

Which you say is quite the rule,

For I’m not in the habit of romping much,

And I do not go to school.

“But now that you’re here, there’s a certain thing

That I’d like to ask of you,—

I’m afraid that I ask too many things,

The nurses say I do,

But I never have troubled you before,

So I’m sure you’ll answer true.

26“I’ve watched that clock for the last three days,

And I’ve puzzled my brains to tell

What becomes of the hours that pass away

At the sound of that sleepy bell.

Do they just die out, or is there some place

Where the worn-out hours dwell?”

The Imp, he smiled and he cocked his head,

And he doffed his tasselled hat.

“So you want to know where they go,” said he,

And he came right down and sat

By the little boy’s ear, and whispered low,

“It’s I that can tell you that!”

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