Yawcob Strauss and Other Poems/Dot Baby Off Mine




 * Mine cracious! mine cracious! shust look here und see
 * A Deutscher so habby as habby can pe!
 * Der beoples all dink dot no prains I haf got;
 * Vas grazy mit trinking, or someding like dot:
 * Id vasn't pecause I trinks lager und vine;
 * Id vas all on aggount off dot baby off mine.




 * Dot schmall leedlc vellow I dells you vas qveer;
 * Not mooch pigger roundt as a goot glass off peer;
 * Mit a bare-footed hed, und nose but a schpeck;
 * A mout dot goes most to der pack off his neck;
 * Und his leedle pink toes mit der rest all combine
 * To gif sooch a charm to dot baby off mine.




 * I dells you dot baby vas von off der poys,
 * Und beats leedle Yawcob for making a noise.
 * He shust has pecun to shbeak goot English too;
 * Says " Mamma" und " Papa," und somedimes "Ah, goo!"
 * You don'd find a baby den dimes oudt off nine
 * Dot vas qvite so schmart as dot baby off mine.




 * He grawls der vloor ofer, und drows dings aboudt,
 * Und poots eferyding he can find in his mout;
 * He dumbles der shtairs down, und falls vrom his chair,
 * Und gifes mine Katrina von derrible sckare.
 * Mine hair shtands like shquills on a mat borcubine
 * Ven I dinks off dose pranks off dot baby off mine.




 * Dere vas someding, you pet, I don'd likes pooty vell,
 * To hear in der nighdt dimes dot young Deutscher yell,
 * Und dravel der ped-room midout many clo'es,
 * Vhile der chills down der shpine off mine pack quickly goes:
 * Does leedle shimnasdic dricks vasn't so fine
 * Dot I cuts oup at nighdt mit dot baby off mine.




 * Vell, dese leedle schafers vas going to pe men,
 * Und all off dese droubles vill peen ofer den:
 * Dey vill vear a vhite shirt-vront inshtead off a bib,
 * Und vouldn't got tucked oup at nighdt in deir crib.
 * Vell, vell, ven I'm feeble, und in life's decline,
 * May mine oldt age pe cheered py dot baby off mine!