Page:Poems that every child should know (ed. Burt, 1904).djvu/84

46 Six white eggs on a bed of hay,

Flecked with purple, a pretty sight:

There as the mother sits all day,

Robert is singing with all his might,

Bob-o'-link, bob-o'-link,

Spink, spank, spink,

Nice good wife that never goes out,

Keeping house while I frolic about.

Chee, chee, chee.

Soon as the little ones chip the shell,

Six wide mouths are open for food;

Robert of Lincoln bestirs him well,

Gathering seeds for the hungry brood:

Bob-o'-link, bob-o'-link,

Spink, spank, spink,

This new life is likely to be

Hard for a gay young fellow like me.

Chee, chee, chee.

Robert of Lincoln at length is made

Sober with work, and silent with care,

Off is his holiday garment laid,

Half forgotten that merry air,

Bob-o'-link, bob-o'-link,

Spink, spank, spink,

Nobody knows but my mate and I,

Where our nest and our nestlings lie.

Chee, chee, chee.

Summer wanes; the children are grown;

Fun and frolic no more he knows,