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Stories and ballads for young folks cover

Stories and ballads for young folks

Chapter 44: LENA LAUGHED.
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About This Book

A mixed collection of short narratives and lyrical pieces aimed at young readers, blending domestic vignettes, playful adventures, and brief moral sketches. Many items focus on childhood scenes—games, family interactions, small acts of kindness and perseverance—while others drift into fairy-tale or fanciful territory with giants, princesses, and imaginative escapades. Interspersed ballads and poems celebrate nature, simple joys, and consolation, shifting tone between humor, tenderness, and gentle instruction. The pieces are concise and varied, alternating story and verse to amuse, soothe, and offer mild ethical reflections appropriate for a youthful audience.

LENA LAUGHED.

Ah, pretty Lena! why is she weeping?
What has befallen? What is it creeping
All the way, all the way down her pink cheeks?
One little, two little, three little tearies;
One little, two little, three little streaks!
One little, two little, three little brothers
Out on a frolic, chasing each other—
And ever and ever so many more!
Quick, let us catch them—poor little dearies!—
Here in this handkerchief, ere they fall o’er.
Now let us find them. Why, they have hidden!
Perhaps they were fairies that came all unbidden,
And ran away, frightened, when Lena laughed out.
Ha, ha! how she scared them! but very queer is
The change that a laugh can alone bring about.