APPLE JACK’S STORY
Apple Jack is the name I bear
And it suits me well, I ween;
My home was once in an apple tree
Among the leaves so green.
My head and body were separate then
With never a stick between.
Though both are now of the richest red,
When young, like the leaves they were green.
APPLE JACK
Each part of me swung on a separate bough
The whole long summer through—
My color was changed by the sun’s warm rays
I was washed by the rain and the dew.
When the autumn came I had a great fall
Which was the making of me,
For a boy chanced that way and took me up
And made me the man you see.
Though I never can do any work for this friend
Who helped me to be what I am,
I’ll stand by him through trouble and joy
And always prove loyal and calm.
If he should choose to take me in
I would cause him never an ache,
For, since he was the making of me,
I’d go down for friendship’s sake.
As long as on the earth I stay
I will try to give him joy,
With a beaming smile upon my face
I will always greet this boy.
The world looks so funny through apple-seed eyes,
To laugh is all I can do;
And when I go, “Greet your friends with a smile”
Is the message I leave to you.