Page:Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag, Volume 6.djvu/236

226 Stop laughing, rude waves,
 * And help me to go!

For I am the queen
 * Of the ocean here,

And this cruel stone
 * Cannot make me fear."

Dashing fiercely up,
 * With a scornful word,

Foolish bubble broke;
 * But rock never stirred.

Then said the sea-birds,
 * Sitting in their nests,

To the little ones
 * Leaning on their breasts,—

Be not like Bubble,
 * Headstrong, rude, and vain,

Seeking by violence
 * Your object to gain;

But be like the rock,
 * Steadfast, true, and strong,

Yet cheerful and kind,
 * And firm against wrong.

Heed, little birdlings,
 * And wiser you'll be

For the lesson learned
 * To-day by the sea."

"Well, to be sure the song has got a moral, if that silly Fancy only sees it," said Uncle Fact, popping up his bald head again as the song ended.