Читать книгу Come Hither: A Collection of Rhymes and Poems for the Young of All Ages онлайн

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Mary Howitt

96

When I sailed out of Baltimore

With twice a thousand head of sheep,

They would not eat, they would not drink,

But bleated o'er the deep.

Inside the pens we crawled each day,

To sort the living from the dead;

And when we reached the Mersey's mouth,

Had lost five hundred head.

Yet every night and day one sheep,

That had no fear of man or sea,

Stuck through the bars its pleading face,

And it was stroked by me.

And to the sheep-men standing near,

"You see," I said, "this one tame sheep:

It seems a child has lost her pet,

And cried herself to sleep."

So every time we passed it by,

Sailing to England's slaughter-house,

Eight ragged sheep-men—tramps and thieves—

Would stroke that sheep's black nose.

William H. Davies

97

I hear a sudden cry of pain!

There is a rabbit in a snare:

Now I hear the cry again,

But I cannot tell from where.

But I cannot tell from where

He is calling out for aid;

Crying on the frightened air,

Making everything afraid.

Making everything afraid,