The Dusky Crew
Our heads were rough and our hands were black
With the ink-stain's midnight hue;
We scouted all, both great and small—
We were a dusky crew;
And each boy's hand was against us raised—
'Gainst me and the Other Two.
We chased the hare from her secret lair,
We roamed the woodlands through;
In parks and grounds far out of bounds
Wandered our dusky crew;
And the keepers swore to see us pass—
Me and the Other Two.
And one there was who was light of limb,
Nimble and wary too.
A spirit grim we made of him
Unto our dusky crew:
He fetched and carries for all us three—
For me and the Other Two.
Our secret caves in the cold, dark earth
The luscious lettuce grew;
We ate the cress in merriness—
We were a dusky crew;
The radish red gave sweet repast
To me and the Other Two.
Our lettuces are dead and gone,
Our plans are fallen through;
We wander free in misery—
We are a wretched crew:
For a master's wrath has fallen on us—
On me and the Other Two.
He found our cave in the cold, dark earth,
He crept the branches through;
He caught us all in our Council-Hall—
Caught us, a dusky crew;
To punishment he led us all—
Me and the Other Two.
Our lettuces are dead and gone,
Our plans have fallen through;
We wander free in misery—
We are a wretched crew.
Will happiness no more return
To me and the Other Two?
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in 1881, before the cutoff of January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1936, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 87 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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