There are several editions of this ebook in the Project Gutenberg collection. Various characteristics of each ebook are listed to aid in selecting the preferred file.
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19722	(Published in 1916; Black and White illustrations by M. Sheldon)
25608	(Published in 1905; Single Tone illustratons by B. C. Pease)
25609	(Published in 1905; Illustrations in Color by J. W. Smith)
25610	(Published in 1895; Black and White illustrations by C.Robins)
25611	(Publication date unknown; Black and White illustrations)
25617	(Published in 1900; Illustrations in Color by Mars and Squire)
28722	(Published in 1919; Illustrations in Color by Maria L. Kirk)

A
Child's
Garden
of Verses

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Illustrated by

Jessie Willcox Smith

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, New York

Copyright, 1905, By CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this book
may be reproduced in any form without the
permission of Charles Scribner's Sons
DD-3.64[H]
Reset March 1955

TO ALISON CUNNINGHAM

FROM HER BOY

For the long nights you lay awake
And watched for my unworthy sake:
For your most comfortable hand
That led me through the uneven land:
For all the story-books you read:
For all the pains you comforted:

For all you pitied, all you bore,
In sad and happy days of yore:—
My second Mother, my first Wife,
The angel of my infant life—
From the sick child, now well and old,
Take, nurse, the little book you hold!

And grant it, Heaven, that all who read
May find as dear a nurse at need,
And every child who lists my rhyme,
In the bright, fireside, nursery clime,
May hear it in as kind a voice
As made my childish days rejoice!

R. L. S.

THE ORIGINAL

TITLE PAGE

FOR

A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES

JESSIE WILLCOX SMITH

A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES
ROBERT LOVIS STEVENSON
WITH ILLVSTRATIONS BY
JESSIE WILLCOX SMITH

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
NEW YORK
MCMV

TO ALISON CUNNINGHAM	vii
BED IN SUMMER	3
A THOUGHT	4
AT THE SEA-SIDE	5
YOUNG NIGHT-THOUGHT	6
WHOLE DUTY OF CHILDREN	7
RAIN	7
PIRATE STORY	8
FOREIGN LANDS	9
WINDY NIGHTS	10
TRAVEL	11
SINGING	13
LOOKING FORWARD	14
A GOOD PLAY	15
WHERE GO THE BOATS?	16
AUNTIE'S SKIRTS	17
THE LAND OF COUNTERPANE	18
THE LAND OF NOD	19
MY SHADOW	20
SYSTEM	22
A GOOD BOY	23
ESCAPE AT BEDTIME	24
MARCHING SONG	25

THE COW	26
HAPPY THOUGHT	27
THE WIND	28
KEEPSAKE MILL	29
GOOD AND BAD CHILDREN	31
FOREIGN CHILDREN	33
THE SUN TRAVELS	35
THE LAMPLIGHTER	36
MY BED IS A BOAT	37
THE MOON	39
THE SWING	40
TIME TO RISE	41
LOOKING-GLASS RIVER	42
FAIRY BREAD	44
FROM A RAILWAY CARRIAGE	45
WINTER-TIME	46
THE HAYLOFT	47
FAREWELL TO THE FARM	49
NORTH-WEST PASSAGE	50
1. Good-Night	50
2. Shadow March	51
3. In Port	52
THE CHILD ALONE
THE UNSEEN PLAYMATE	57
MY SHIP AND I	59
MY KINGDOM	61

PICTURE-BOOKS IN WINTER	63
MY TREASURES	65
BLOCK CITY	67
THE LAND OF STORY-BOOKS	69
ARMIES IN THE FIRE	71
THE LITTLE LAND	73
GARDEN DAYS
NIGHT AND DAY	79
NEST EGGS	82
THE FLOWERS	84
SUMMER SUN	86
THE DUMB SOLDIER	87
AUTUMN FIRES	89
THE GARDENER	90
HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS	92
ENVOYS
TO WILLIE AND HENRIETTA	97
TO MY MOTHER	98
TO AUNTIE	99
TO MINNIE	100
TO MY NAME-CHILD	103
TO ANY READER	105

ILLUSTRATIONS

FROM DRAWINGS IN COLOR
BY JESSIE WILLCOX SMITH

		FACING PAGE
Bed in Summer		4
	In winter I get up at night And dress by yellow candle-light.
Foreign Lands		10
	I held the trunk with both my hands And looked abroad on foreign lands.
The Land of Counterpane		18
	I was the giant great and still That sits upon the pillow-hill,
My Shadow		20
	He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see; I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!
Foreign Children		34
	Little Indian, Sioux or Crow, Little frosty Eskimo, Little Turk or Japanee, Oh! don't you wish that you were me?
Looking-glass River		42
	We can see our coloured faces Floating on the shaken pool

The Hayloft		48
	Oh, what a joy to clamber there, Oh, what a place for play, With the sweet, the dim, the dusty air, The happy hills of hay!
North-west Passage		50
	And face with an undaunted tread The long black passage up to bed.
Picture-books in Winter		64
	Water now is turned to stone Nurse and I can walk upon; Still we find the flowing brooks In the picture story-books.
The Little Land		74
	I have just to shut my eyes To go sailing through the skies— To go sailing far away To the pleasant Land of Play;
The Flowers		84
	All the names I know from nurse: Gardener's garters, Shepherd's purse, Bachelor's buttons, Lady's smock, And the Lady Hollyhock.
To Auntie		100
	What did the other children do? And what were childhood, wanting you?

A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES

BED IN SUMMER

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

Mary Mary

Hans Hans

A THOUGHT

It is very nice to think
The world is full of meat and drink,
With little children saying grace
In every Christian kind of place.

Biddy Biddy

Fifine Fifine

BED IN SUMMER BED IN SUMMER

AT THE SEA-SIDE

When I was down beside the sea
A wooden spade they gave to me
To dig the sandy shore.

My holes were empty like a cup.
In every hole the sea came up,
Till it could come no more.

YOUNG NIGHT-THOUGHT

All night long and every night,
When my mama puts out the light,
I see the people marching by,
As plain as day, before my eye.

Armies and emperors and kings,
All carrying different kinds of things,
And marching in so grand a way,
You never saw the like by day.

So fine a show was never seen
At the great circus on the green;
For every kind of beast and man
Is marching in that caravan.

At first they move a little slow,
But still the faster on they go,
And still beside them close I keep
Until we reach the town of Sleep.

WHOLE DUTY OF CHILDREN

A child should always say what's true
And speak when he is spoken to,
And behave mannerly at table;
At least as far as he is able.

RAIN

The rain is raining all around,
It falls on field and tree,
It rains on the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea.

PIRATE STORY

Three of us afloat in the meadow by the swing,
Three of us aboard in the basket on the lea.
Winds are in the air, they are blowing in the spring,
And waves are on the meadow like the waves there are at sea.

Where shall we adventure, to-day that we're afloat,
Wary of the weather and steering by a star?
Shall it be to Africa, a-steering of the boat,
To Providence, or Babylon, or off to Malabar?

Hi! but here's a squadron a-rowing on the sea—
Cattle on the meadow a-charging with a roar!
Quick, and we'll escape them, they're as mad as they can be,
The wicket is the harbour and the garden is the shore.

FOREIGN LANDS

Up into the cherry tree
Who should climb but little me?
I held the trunk with both my hands
And looked abroad on foreign lands.

I saw the next door garden lie,
Adorned with flowers, before my eye,
And many pleasant places more
That I had never seen before.

I saw the dimpling river pass
And be the sky's blue looking-glass;
The dusty roads go up and down
With people tramping in to town.

If I could find a higher tree
Farther and farther I should see,
To where the grown-up river slips
Into the sea among the ships,

To where the roads on either hand
Lead onward into fairy land,
Where all the children dine at five,
And all the playthings come alive.

WINDY NIGHTS

Whenever the moon and stars are set,
Whenever the wind is high,
All night long in the dark and wet,
A man goes riding by.
Late in the night when the fires are out,
Why does he gallop and gallop about?

Whenever the trees are crying aloud,
And ships are tossed at sea,
By, on the highway, low and loud,
By at the gallop goes he.
By at the gallop he goes, and then
By he comes back at the gallop again.

FOREIGN LANDS FOREIGN LANDS

TRAVEL

I should like to rise and go
Where the golden apples grow;—
Where below another sky
Parrot islands anchored lie,
And, watched by cockatoos and goats,
Lonely Crusoes building boats;—
Where in sunshine reaching out
Eastern cities, miles about,
Are with mosque and minaret
Among sandy gardens set,
And the rich goods from near and far
Hang for sale in the bazaar;—
Where the Great Wall round China goes,
And on one side the desert blows,
And with bell and voice and drum,
Cities on the other hum;—
Where are forests, hot as fire,
Wide as England, tall as a spire,
Full of apes and cocoa-nuts
And the negro hunters' huts;—
Where the knotty crocodile
Lies and blinks in the Nile,
And the red flamingo flies
Hunting fish before his eyes;—
Where in jungles, near and far,
Man-devouring tigers are,
Lying close and giving ear
Lest the hunt be drawing near,

Or a comer-by be seen
Swinging in a palanquin;—
Where among the desert sands
Some deserted city stands,
All its children, sweep and prince,
Grown to manhood ages since,
Not a foot in street or house,
Not a stir of child or mouse,
And when kindly falls the night,
In all the town no spark of light.
There I'll come when I'm a man
With a camel caravan;
Light a fire in the gloom
Of some dusty dining-room;
See the pictures on the walls,
Heroes, fights, and festivals;
And in a corner find the toys
Of the old Egyptian boys.

SINGING

Of speckled eggs the birdie sings
And nests among the trees;
The sailor sings of ropes and things
In ships upon the seas.

The children sing in far Japan,
The children sing in Spain;
The organ with the organ man
Is singing in the rain.

LOOKING FORWARD

When I am grown to man's estate
I shall be very proud and great,
And tell the other girls and boys
Not to meddle with my toys.

A GOOD PLAY

We built a ship upon the stairs
All made of the back-bedroom chairs,
And filled it full of sofa pillows
To go a-sailing on the billows.

We took a saw and several nails,
And water in the nursery pails;
And Tom said, "Let us also take
An apple and a slice of cake;"—
Which was enough for Tom and me
To go a-sailing on, till tea.

We sailed along for days and days
And had the very best of plays;
But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,
So there was no one left but me.

WHERE GO THE BOATS?

Dark brown is the river,
Golden is the sand.
It flows along for ever,
With trees on either hand.

Green leaves a-floating,
Castles of the foam,
Boats of mine a-boating—
Where will all come home?

On goes the river
And out past the mill,
Away down the valley,
Away down the hill.

Away down the river,
A hundred miles or more,
Other little children
Shall bring my boats ashore.

AUNTIE'S SKIRTS

Whenever Auntie moves around,
Her dresses make a curious sound,
They trail behind her up the floor,
And trundle after through the door.

THE LAND OF COUNTERPANE

When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay
To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so
I watched my leaden soldiers go,
With different uniforms and drills,
Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets
All up and down among the sheets;
Or brought my trees and houses out,
And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still
That sits upon the pillow-hill,
And sees before him, dale and plain,
The pleasant land of counterpane.

THE LAND OF COUNTERPANE THE LAND OF COUNTERPANE

THE LAND OF NOD

From breakfast on through all the day
At home among my friends I stay,
But every night I go abroad
Afar into the land of Nod.

All by myself I have to go,
With none to tell me what to do—
All alone beside the streams
And up the mountain-sides of dreams.

The strangest things are there for me,
Both things to eat and things to see,
And many frightening sights abroad
Till morning in the land of Nod.

Try as I like to find the way,
I never can get back by day,
Nor can remember plain and clear
The curious music that I hear.

MY SHADOW

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all.

He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see;
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

MY SHADOW MY SHADOW

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

TO ALISON CUNNINGHAM

A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES
ROBERT LOVIS STEVENSON
WITH ILLVSTRATIONS BY
JESSIE WILLCOX SMITH

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS

A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES

BED IN SUMMER

A THOUGHT

AT THE SEA-SIDE

YOUNG NIGHT-THOUGHT

WHOLE DUTY OF CHILDREN

RAIN

PIRATE STORY

FOREIGN LANDS

WINDY NIGHTS

TRAVEL

SINGING

LOOKING FORWARD

A GOOD PLAY

WHERE GO THE BOATS?

AUNTIE'S SKIRTS

THE LAND OF COUNTERPANE

The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Child's Garden of Verses

There are several editions of this ebook in the Project Gutenberg collection. Various characteristics of each ebook are listed to aid in selecting the preferred file.
Click on any of the filenumbers below to quickly view each ebook.

A
Child's
Garden
of Verses

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Jessie Willcox Smith

THE LAND OF NOD

MY SHADOW

The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Child's Garden of Verses

There are several editions of this ebook in the Project Gutenberg collection. Various characteristics of each ebook are listed to aid in selecting the preferred file. Click on any of the filenumbers below to quickly view each ebook.

A Child's Garden of Verses

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

Jessie Willcox Smith

A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES ROBERT LOVIS STEVENSON WITH ILLVSTRATIONS BY JESSIE WILLCOX SMITH

There are several editions of this ebook in the Project Gutenberg collection. Various characteristics of each ebook are listed to aid in selecting the preferred file.
Click on any of the filenumbers below to quickly view each ebook.

A
Child's
Garden
of Verses

A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES
ROBERT LOVIS STEVENSON
WITH ILLVSTRATIONS BY
JESSIE WILLCOX SMITH