Page:Now We Are Six (1955).pdf/19

“Forget about the crackers,
 And forget about the candy;
I’m sure a box of chocolates
 Would never come in handy;
I don’t like oranges,
 I don’t want nuts,
And I HAVE got a pocket-knife
 That almost cuts.
But, oh! Father Christmas, if you love me at all,
Bring me a big, red india-rubber ball!”

King John was not a good man—
 Next morning when the sun
Rose up to tell a waiting world
 That Christmas had begun,
And people seized their stockings,
 And opened them with glee,
And crackers, toys and games appeared,
And lips with sticky sweets were smeared,
King John said grimly: “As I feared,
 Nothing again for me!”