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The Myth of the Song Sparrow
59
His mother was the Brook, his sisters were the Reeds,
And they every one applauded when he sang about his deeds.
His vest was white, his mantle brown, as clear as they could be,
And his songs were fairly bubbling o′er with melody and glee.
But an envious Neighbor splashed with mud our Brownies coat and vest
And then a final handful threw that stuck upon his breast.
The Brook-bird′s mother did her best to wash the stains away.
But there they stuck, and, as it seems, are very like to stay.
And so he wears the splashes and the mud blotch as you see.
But his songs are bubbling over still with melody and glee.
