OLD MAN'S NURSERY RHYME.
Reading edition
I.
In the jolly winters Of the long-ago, It was not so cold as now— O! No! No! Then, as I remember, Snowballs, to eat, Were as good as apples now, And every bit as sweet!
II.
In the jolly winters Of the dead-and-gone, Bub was warm as summer, With his red mitts on,— Just in his little waist- And-pants all together, Who ever heard him growl About cold weather?
III.
In the jolly winters of the long-ago— Was it half so cold as now? O! No! No! Who caught his death o' cold, Making prints of men Flat-backed in snow that now's Twice as cold again?
IV.
In the jolly winters Of the dead-and-gone, Startin' out rabbit-hunting Early as the dawn,— Who ever froze his fingers, Ears, heels, or toes,— Or'd a cared if he had? Nobody knows!
V.
Nights by the kitchen-stove, Shelling white and red Corn in the skillet, and Sleepin' four abed! Ah! the jolly winters Of the long-ago! We were not so old as now— O! No! No!