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 these 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.
Robert Lewis Stevenson

Wynken, Blynken and Nod

Wynken, Blynken and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe,
Sailed on a river of crystal light
Into a sea of dew.

"Where are you going and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!" Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.

The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea.
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish-- Never afeard are we!"
So cried the stars to the fishermen three: Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam.
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home.

'Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be
And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea-- But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle bed.

So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

by Eugene Field

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?

by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Sugar-Plum Tree

Have you ever heard of the Sugar-Plum Tree?
'Tis a marvel of great renown!
It blooms on the shore of the Lollypop Sea
In the garden of Shut-Eye Town;
The fruit that it bears is so wondrously sweet
(As those who have tasted it say)
That good little children have only to eat
Of that fruit to be happy next day.

When you've got to the tree, you would have a hard time
To capture the fruit which I sing;
The tree is so tall that no person could climb
To the boughs where the sugar-plums swing!
But up in that tree sits a chocolate cat,
And a ginger bread dog prowls below-
And this is the way you contrive to get at
Those sugar-plums tempting you so:

You say but the word to that gingerbread dog
And he barks with such a terrible zest
That the chocolate cat is at once all agog,
As her swelling proportions attest.
And the chocolate cat goes covorting around
From this leafy limb unto that,
And the sugar-plums tumble, of course, to the ground-
Hurray for that chocolate cat!

There are marshmallows, gumdrops, and peppermint canes
With striping of scarlet and gold,
And you carry away of the treasure that rains,
As much as your apron can hold!
So come, little child, cuddle closer to me
In your dainty white nightcap and gown,
And I'll rock you away to the Sugar-Plum Tree
In the garden of Shut-Eye Town.

Eugene Field

Little Children

Do you know what little children Believe?
They Believe in the Joy of the Moment!
They Believe everything is really going to be All Right!
If they get into an unkind scuffle with a friend,
Ten minutes later they are playing together again!
Children live their forgiveness.
They believe in castles in the sky,
That the moon has a face, and the Earth is our mother.
They believe in wonders like faeries,
Santa Claus, a pot of gold at rainbow's end,
That a kiss can cure a boo-boo and dry a tear,
That holding hands is good, that sharing is right.
Be as a little child again.
Let your hearts be joy filled, mild and kind.
We are children of the universe,
Though at times we might be like paupers or kings;
We might speak like a sage or a fool;
We might think in ignorance or wisdom;
We might perceive all unalike ~
Yet we are children...we are children.
Together, here. ...and we need to just
Believe that's what we are.
So go ahead...go outside.
Look up into a clear, cool winter's night sky.
See that first star to the left?
Make a wish upon it and look at it... watch it...
Let it touch the wonders of the child inside of you
And like that Star
No matter how dark the night is,
Sparkle diamond bright, sweet child!