Lesson I..
THE SHEPHERD BOY
1.
Little Roy led his sheep down to pasture,
And his cows, by the side of
the brook;
But his cows never drank any water,
And his sheep never needed a
crook.
2.
For the pasture was gay as a garden,
And it glowed with a flowery
red;
But the meadows had never a grass blade,
And the brooklet -- it slept
in its bed:
3.
And it lay without sparkle or murmur,
Nor reflected the blue of the
skies;
But the music was made by the shepherd,
And the sparkle was all in his
eyes.
4.
Oh, he sang like a bird in the summer!
And, if sometimes you fancied
a bleat,
That, too, was the voice of the shepherd,
And not of the lambs at his
feet.
5.
And the glossy brown cows were so gentle
That they moved at the touch
of his hand
O'er the wonderful, rosy-red meadow,
And they stood at the word of
command.
6.
So he led all his sheep to the pasture,
And his cows, by the side of
the brook;
Though it rained, yet the rain never pattered
O'er the beautiful way that they took.
7.
And it wasn't in Fairyland either,
But a house in the midst of
the town,
Where Roy, as he looked from the window,
Saw the silvery drops trickle
down.
8.
For his pasture was only a table,
With its cover so flowery fair,
And his brooklet was just a green ribbon,
That his sister had lost from her
hair.
9.
And his cows were but glossy horse-chestnuts,
That had grown on his grandfather's
tree;
And his sheep only snowy-white pebbles,
He had brought from the shore
of the sea,
10.
And at length when the shepherd was weary,
And had taken his milk and his
bread,
And his mother had kissed him and tucked him,
And had bid him "good night"
in his bed;
11.
Then there entered his big brother Walter,
While the shepherd was soundly
asleep,
And he cut up the cows into baskets,
And to jackstones turned all
of the sheep.
Emily S. Oakey.
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