Told in the twilight

Chapter 17: SELINA’S DESTINY.

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About This Book

A compact assortment of short lyrical poems aimed at children, presenting twilight moods, daydreams, and gentle moral observations. Imaginative vignettes mix whimsy and instruction: seaside fantasies populated by talking sea-creatures, street and river scenes that note poverty and longing, and tender encounters with swallows, lambs, cats, and other animals. Several pieces meditate on dreams, memory, and consolation, while others offer playful moral lessons about prudence, gratitude, and kindness, combining simple imagery with reflective, quietly didactic tones.

SELINA’S DESTINY.

Selina Sophonisba Ann

Had a soul above a frying-pan,

And, when her mother to cook began,

She took to her heels and away she ran.

Selina Sophonisba, she

Stood all day long ’neath the apple tree,

Till she became most dreadfullee

What is commonly callèd hungaree!

Selina Sophonisba Ann

About her dinner to think began,

But the voice of a little Fairy-man

Said, “Don’t go back to the frying-pan,

“Stay here beneath the apple tree,

And you will find your destinee,

A prince is coming of high degree,

Who will make you queen of his fair countree.”

The prince came not: and the moments ran,

And her thoughts to supper to turn began,

So Selina Sophonisba Ann

Went gladly back to the frying-pan.