Poems of Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in The Juvenile Forget Me Not, 1836/The Lesson

by Letitia Elizabeth Landon

THE LESSON.

By L. E. L.

Come, dearest, to your lesson,
    You have so much to say,
One, two, three, four, five letters,
    Before you go to play.

There is "A" that stands for apple,
    You know our own old tree,
It is covered now with blossoms
    That shew where fruit will be.

There's "B" that stands for butterfly,
    But yesterday we caught
One whose wings with brown and crimson,
    And specks of gold were wrought.

There is "C" that stands for cowslip;
    When you have said them all
We will go into the meadow,
    And make a cowslip ball.

There's "D" that stands for darling;
    The prettiest in the row:
Who is his mother's darling—
    Who is he—do you know?

You say you'll be a sailor:
    How sorry you would be
Not to read your mother's letters,
    When far away at sea.

Ah! I see you'll be a scholar;
    You've said them rightly o'er:
There's a good child—and to-morrow
    You are to learn some more.

Come now into the garden,
    To the fruit and flowers away;
So well you've said your lesson,
    That you deserve to play.