JUVENILES.
The Boy and the Boot.
“Bother!” was all that John Clatterby said;
His breath came quick and his cheeks were red,
He flourished his elbows and looked absurd,
While, over and over, his “Bother!” I heard.
Harder and harder he tugged and worked;
Vainly and savagely still he jerked;
The boot, half on, would dawdle and flap,
“Bother!” and then he burst the strap.
Redder than ever his hot cheek flamed;
Louder than ever he fumed and blamed;
He wiggled his heel and he tugged at the leather
Till his knees and his chin came bumping together.
“My boy,” said I, in a voice like a flute,
“Why not first try your troublesome boot
On the other foot?” “I’m a goose!” laughed John,
As he stood, in a flash, with his two boots on.
In half the affairs of this every-day life
(As that same day I said to my wife),
Our troubles come from trying to put
The left-hand boot on the right-hand foot.