Page:Poems that every child should know (ed. Burt, 1904).djvu/187

Rh So said, so done; the chords he strained,

And, as his fingers o'er them hovered,

The shell disdained a soul had gained,

The lyre had been discovered.

O empty world that round us lies,

Dead shell, of soul and thought forsaken,

Brought we but eyes like Mercury's,

In thee what songs should waken!

.

A Chrysalis.

little Mädchen found one day

A curious something in her play,

That was not fruit, nor flower, nor seed;

It was not anything that grew,

Or crept, or climbed, or swam, or flew;

Had neither legs nor wings, indeed;

And yet she was not sure, she said,

Whether it was alive or dead.

She brought it in her tiny hand

To see if I would understand,

And wondered when I made reply,

"You've found a baby butterfly."

"A butterfly is not like this,"

With doubtful look she answered me.

So then I told her what would be

Some day within the chrysalis: