Page:Jim of the Hills.djvu/36

  His old dog sportin' on ahead, his troubles all behind, An' joy mixed in the blood of him because the world is kind. For it's Mornin'! Mornin'! Time to out an' strive! Oh, there's not a thing I'm askin' else but just to be alive!

It's cranky moods a man will get an' funny ways of mind; For I've a memory of one whose thoughts were all unkind: Who sat an' brooded thro' the night beside the blazin' log. His home a mirthless, silent house, his only pal a dog. But it's Mornin! Mornin'! I nurse no thought but praise, I've more good friends than I could count, tho' I should count for days.

My friends are in the underbrush, my friends are in the trees. An' merrily they welcome me with mornin' melodies. Above, below, from bush an' bough each calls his tuneful part; An' best of all, one trusty friend is callin' in my heart. For it's Mornin'! Mornin'! When night's black troubles end. An' never man was friendless yet who stayed his own good friend.

Ben Murray, he's no friend of mine, an' well I know the same; But why should I be thinkin' hate, an' nursin' thoughts of blame? Last evenin' I'd no friend within, but troubles all around, An' madly thought to fight a man for ten or twenty pound. But it's Mornin'! Mornin'! my friend within's alive. An' he'd never risk a twenty—tho' he might consider five.