Page:The complete poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar.pdf/81

 The ground was white with spotless snow, the blast was sort o' stingin'; But underneath our round-abouts, you bet our hearts was singin'. That spellin'-bee had be'n the talk o' many a precious moment, The youngsters all was wild to see jes' what the precious show meant, An' we whose years was in their teens was little less desirous O' gittin' to the meetin' so's our sweethearts could admire us. So on we went so anxious fur to satisfy our mission That father had to box our ears, to smother our ambition. But boxin' ears was too short work to hinder our arrivin', He jest turned roun' an' smacked us all, an' kep' right on a-drivin'. Well, soon the schoolhouse hove in sight, the winders beamin' brightly; The sound o' talkin' reached our ears, and voices laffin' lightly. It puffed us up so full an' big 'at I'll jest bet a dollar, There wa'n't a feller there but felt the strain upon his collar, So down we jumped an' in we went ez sprightly ez you make 'em, But somethin' grabbed us by the knees an' straight began to shake 'em. Fur once within that lighted room, our feelin's took a canter, An' scurried to the zero mark ez quick ez Tam O'Shanter. 'Cause there was crowds o' people there, both sexes an' all stations; It looked like all the town had come an' brought all their relations. The first I saw was Nettie Gray, I thought that girl was dearer 'N' gold; an' when I got a chance, you bet I aidged up near her. An' Farmer Dobbs's girl was there, the one 'at Jim was sweet on, An' Cyrus Jones an' Mandy Smith an' Faith an' Patience Deaton. Then Parson Brown an' LawyerJones were present—all attention, An' piles on piles of other folks too numerous to mention, The master rose an' briefly said: "Good friends, dear brother Crawford, To spur the pupils' minds along, a little prize has offered. To him who spells the best to-