To use her sharp claw;
I never will vex her,
Nor make her displeased,
For Pussy can't bear
To be worried or teased.

312

THE STAR

JANE TAYLOR

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.

When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveler in the dark
Thanks you for your tiny spark;
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye
Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark
Lights the traveler in the dark,
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Although Christina G. Rossetti (1830-1894) is
not known primarily as a writer for children,
her _Sing-Song_, from which the next seven
poems are taken, is a juvenile classic. She
ranks very high among the women poets of the
nineteenth century, her only equal being Mrs.
Browning. Besides the brief poems in
_Sing-Song_, Miss Rossetti's "Goblin Market"
and "Uphill" please young people of a
contemplative mood. While there is an
undercurrent of sadness in much of her work, it
is a natural accompaniment of her themes and is
not unduly emphasized.

313

SELDOM OR NEVER

CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI

Seldom "can't,"
Seldom "don't";
Never "shan't,"
Never "won't."

314

AN EMERALD IS AS GREEN AS GRASS

CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI

An emerald is as green as grass;
A ruby, red as blood;
A sapphire shines as blue as heaven;
A flint lies in the mud.

A diamond is a brilliant stone
To catch the world's desire;
An opal holds a fiery spark;
But a flint holds fire.

315

BOATS SAIL ON THE RIVERS

CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI

Boats sail on the rivers,
And ships sail on the seas;
But clouds that sail across the sky
Are prettier far than these.
There are bridges on the rivers,
As prett