for the third part of a minute, hence;
Some to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds,
Some war with rere-mice for their leathern wings,
To make my small elves coats, and some keep back
The clamorous owl that nightly hoots and wonders
At our quaint spirits. Sing me now asleep;
Then to your offices and let me rest.

_She lies down to sleep, and the_ FAIRIES _sing as follows_:

You spotted snakes with double tongue,
Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen;
Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong,
Come not near our fairy queen.
Philomel, with melody
Sing in our sweet lullaby;
Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby:
Never harm,
Nor spell nor charm,
Come our lovely lady nigh:
So good-night, with lullaby.

Weaving spiders, come not here;
Hence, you long-legged spinners, hence.
Beetles black, approach not near;
Worm nor snail, do no offence.
Philomel, with melody
Sing in our sweet lullaby;
Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby:
Never harm,
Nor spell nor charm,
Come our lovely lady nigh;
So, good-night, with lullaby.

A FAIRY

Hence, away! now all is well:
One aloof stand sentinel.

363

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) is America's
greatest spiritual teacher. His essays, such as
"Self-Reliance" and "The American Scholar," are
his chief claim to fame. The two brief poems
given here are well known. "Fable" should be
studied along with No. 236, since they
emphasize the same lesson that size is after
all a purely relative matter. "Concord Hymn" is
a splendidly dignified expression of the debt
of gratitude we owe to the memory of those who
made our country possible. Of course no reader
will fail to notice the famous last two lines
of the first stanza.

FABLE

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

The mountain and the squirrel
Had a quarrel,
And the former called the latter "Little Prig";
Bun replied,
"You are doubtless very big;
But all sorts of things and weather
Must be taken in together
To make up a year
And a sphere.
And I think it no disgrace