APPLE JACK’S STORY

Apple Jack is the name I bear And it suits me well, I ween; My home was once in an apple tree Among the leaves so green. My head and body were separate then With never a stick between. Though both are now of the richest red, When young, like the leaves they were green.

Each part of me swung on a separate bough The whole long summer through— My color was changed by the sun’s warm rays I was washed by the rain and the dew. When the autumn came I had a great fall Which was the making of me, For a boy chanced that way and took me up And made me the man you see. Though I never can do any work for this friend Who helped me to be what I am, I’ll stand by him through trouble and joy And always prove loyal and calm. If he should choose to take me in I would cause him never an ache, For, since he was the making of me, I’d go down for friendship’s sake. As long as on the earth I stay I will try to give him joy, With a beaming smile upon my face I will always greet this boy. The world looks so funny through apple-seed eyes, To laugh is all I can do; And when I go, “Greet your friends with a smile” Is the message I leave to you.