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Mother Earth's Children: The Frolics of the Fruits and Vegetables cover

Mother Earth's Children: The Frolics of the Fruits and Vegetables

Chapter 3: INDEX
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About This Book

A collection of short illustrated verses that personify fruits, vegetables, grains, and other edible plants as playful children, each vignette sketching a plant’s appearance, seasonal habits, or a quaint personality trait. A brief foreword introduces seeds and growth, and the poems are grouped by garden, orchard, field, and seaside settings. Simple rhyme, light humor, and charming illustrations aim to teach young readers about plant variety, seasons, and uses while fostering appreciation for nature’s bounty.

PINEAPPLE has so many “eyes”
You cannot take him by surprise;
He’s full of sunshine, through and through,
And always has a treat for you.

63

COFFEE said: “I must really study
To find why my complexion’s muddy.
Perhaps it’s only tan, you know
I do run out bareheaded so!”

64

MR. Green Tea comes from Japan,
He’s such a wrinkled little man;
He says: “My tea is very nice,
Will you have sugar, milk or ice?”

65

BARLEY’S a bearded gentleman,
He wears a suit of golden tan;
Though he has homes both east and west
He loves the prairie lands the best.

66

“I DINNA care,” said bluff Scotch Oat,
“For dinner at a table d’hote;
A bowl of porridge and some tea,
At home, are good enough for me.”

67

“I’LL be grown up,” said Caraway,
“And out of school Thanksgiving Day;
That’s a good thing, too, ’cause you see,
They can’t make cookies without me.”

68

“OUR family’s not hard to suit,”
Said Mrs. Peach. “We’re simple fruit;
We like most any kind of weather
If the sun shines, and we’re together.”

69

HICKORY Nut looks rough and rude,
Although at heart he’s very good.
If once you get inside his shell
You’re sure to like him very well.

70

SAID Cactus: “On the desert wild
I used to be a naughty child,
But since I went to Burbank’s school,
I’m good, and live by Golden Rule.”

71

“THE boys all call me ‘Nigger Toe,’”
Brazil Nut said; “I think I’ll go
Back to Brazil; ’t would serve them right
And teach them to be more polite.”

72

COCOANUT has a funny face,
Eyes, nose and mouth all in one place;
He’s always busy selling milk,
While Mrs. Cocoanut makes silk.

73

SAID Mrs. Peanut, in a flutter,
“I quite forgot to salt the butter;”
The little Peanut children said:
“Why then, Mama, we’ll salt the bread.”

74

SAID Chestnut: “I work for my living
I stuff the turkey on Thanksgiving.
On winter days I work down town;
You’ll know me by my coat of brown.”

75

PERSIMMON said: “I’m up so high
I can reach out and touch the sky.”
Bre’r Possum said: “Don’t reach too far,
You might put out a shining star.”

76

SAID Mr. Gourd: “You’ll plainly see
We are a busy family;
We give you bottles, cups and things,
And curly vines for playtime rings.”

77

LITTLE, wise, home-loving Truffle
Never lets his temper ruffle;
His home is just beneath the ground,
And there he always may be found.

78

WILD Grape just loves to run away
And in the green woods climb and play;
You’ll know him when among the trees
His fragrant blossoms scent the breeze.

79

THOUGH Miss Grape Fruit is very young
Her praises are on every tongue;
And though she travels everywhere
She has a very modest air.

80

THE Lemons every summer go
In groups to see the Wild West Show;
Come rain or shine, they never stay
At home on any circus day.

81

MISS Cotton is a fairy queen
In her white dress all trimmed with green;
To other children everywhere
She sends such pretty clothes to wear.

82

MISS Orange said: “I’d like to know
Those pretty mountain girls called ‘Snow;’”
“Don’t,” said her Dad, “or we are lost;
They’re relatives of Sir Jack Frost.”

83

MISS Beechnut wears a pretty bonnet
With little fuzzy feathers on it.
She’s very sweet, and always good;
Her home is in the deep, wild wood

84

“I WORK,” said genial Mrs. Wheat,
“To give the world enough to eat;
I’m always happy when there’s bread
Enough, so every child is fed.”

85

CITRON is very plump and round,
He likes to roll upon the ground;
Come rain or shine he’s always happy,
A nice, contented little chappie.

86

CRANBERRY dearly loves to go
Wading in places wet and low;
She wears soft gowns of dainty floss
Made of the pretty yellow moss.

87

SAID Indian Corn: “I’m heap rich brave,
Much shiny gold I make and save.”
So Squaw Corn went and bought a bonnet,
And a silk gown with tassels on it.

88

NORTH Wind came whistling by one day
Where the Tomatoes were at play;
It gave those children such a fright
They put their blankets on that night.

89

THE oddest child—when all is said—
Of those we’ve met, is St. John’s Bread;
He’s Spanish, so I’ve understood,
And makes a food that’s very good.

90

THE Nutmeg children ran away
To tease the cook on baking day.
Said Mother Nutmeg, in surprise:
“Why! Who will spice the custard pies?

91

THE Pumpkin children, everyone,
On Hallowe’en go out for fun;
With Jack o’lantern and his crew
They find such jolly things to do.

92

WHEN Jack Frost said: “Now, children all,
Go in before the snowflakes fall,”
Parsnip declared he liked the snow
To cover him, and didn’t go.

93

SIR English Walnut, pompous, fat,
Is quite a great aristocrat.
His family is very old;
They lived in Bible times, we’re told.

94

THE Popcorn children are so dear
They stay with us all through the year;
They like to dance in dresses white
Around the open fire at night.

95


INDEX

Apple62Lemon81
Artichoke43Lettuce11
Asparagus14Muskmelon44
Banana57Mustard47
Barley66Nigger Toe (Brazil Nut)72
Beechnut84Nutmeg91
Beet33Olive46
Blackberry40Orange83
Blueberry32Oyster Plant42
Brussels Sprout38Parsley30
Button Mushrooms13Parsnip93
Cabbage61Peach69
Cactus71Peanut74
Caraway68Pear56
Carrageen41Pearl Onion20
Carrots19Persimmon76
Cashew58Pineapple63
Cauliflower48Plum49
Celery18Pomegranate59
Cherries22Popcorn95
Chestnut75Potato25
Chicory34Pumpkin92
Citron86Quince55
Cocoanut73Radish9
Coffee64Raspberry26
Cotton82Red Pepper28
Cranberry87Rhubarb10
Cucumber29Rice36
Currants37Rutabaga Turnip39
Dandelion11Scotch Oat67
Egg Plant52Spanish Onion12
Endive18Spinach16
English Walnut94String Bean24
Fig35St. John’s Bread90
Garlic50Sugar Cane60
Gooseberry23Summer Squash53
Gourd77Tomato89
Grape Fruit80Truffle78
Green Onion9Vegetable Marrow53
Green Pea15Water Cress21
Green Pepper28Watermelon45
Green Tea65Wheat85
Gumbo31White Turnip27
Hickory Nut70Wild Grape79
Horseradish38Wild Strawberry17
Hubbard Squash54Yam51
Indian Corn88