Author of The Hungry Tiger of Oz, "The Artful Arab", King Kojo, etc.
Originally published in the Philadelphia Public Ledger, November 19, 1916.
Forlornly in a chilly field
The scarecrow stood and shivered.
Long-drawn and sad, the owl's weird notes
Upon the night air quivered.
"My work is done!" the scarecrow mourned;
"I've served full half a year.
The corn is in, and I alone
Am left forgotten here!
"The winds grow colder every day,
And in my rags and tatters
I'll have to brave them. No one seems
To think a scarecrow matters!
"Who cares for me?" the old owl heard,
And answered, "Who-o-o? Who? Who-o-o-o?"
No wonder that the scarecrow felt
So melancholy--whew!
But all at once the earth around
The scarecrow man was shaken.
When human folk desert one, dears,
'Tis then the fairies waken!
And dancing in a magic ring,
On toes as light as heather,
The fairies softly called, "We care!"
And curtsied all together.
And round and round, and back and forth,
And turning all about,
They flit, till even fairy feet
Begin to feel tired out.
Then, dropping on the ground, they chant
A dreamy, drowsy spell,
And straightway in the cornfield there
A magic thing befell!
For the scarecrow shrunk and shrunk,
Till just the proper size
To play with fairy folk, and then,
Before the very eyes
Of the solemn owl, he skipped away,
Just melted out of sight
With the other fairies--and, perhaps,
You'll see them all some night!
THE FORGETFUL POET
By Ruth Plumly Thompson
Originally published in the Philadelphia Public Ledger, March 4, 1917.
The Puzzle Corner
Mr. G. Ography was quite astonished that you guessed his sentences so easily, but he is sure you will find these much harder. And I think so, too.
What three places do you find here:
Hungary lions rome.
Where would you go if you wanted a new hat, a new coat and a sweater? Here are three more:
George--a ball can burn.
Of course, all the places are not spelled correctly, but they SOUND right.
[Answers next time.]
Copyright © 2003 Eric Shanower and David Maxine. All rights reserved.
