St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 13, May 1886, No. 7

Volume 13 / Part 2 — WHAT BERTIE SAW IN THE FLOWERS.

Reading edition

By L. G. R.

Illustration from St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 13, May 1886, No. 7. An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks

Buttercup! Buttercup! Hold your shining clusters up! In each little house of gold, What is this that I behold? Twenty soldiers, straight and slim, Golden-helmeted and prim. All day long so still they stand, Never turning head or hand; No one guesses where they stray In the moonlight nights of May. When the fairies are abroad, These small men keep watch and ward; Round the fairy ring they pace All night long, to guard the place; But when morning comes again, Back are all the little men.