The year's at the spring/Fyleman, Rose

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The year's at the spring
Fyleman, Rose:
Alms in Autumn 105; I Don't Like Beetles 107; Wishes 108.
1165278The year's at the spring — Fyleman, Rose:
Alms in Autumn 105; I Don't Like Beetles 107; Wishes 108.

Alms in Autumn

SPINDLE-WOOD, spindle-wood, will you lend me, pray,
A little flaming lantern to guide me on my way?
The fairies all have vanished from the meadow and the glen,
And I would fain go seeking till I find them once again.
Lend me now a lantern that I may bear a light
To find the hidden pathway in the darkness of the night.


Ash-tree, ash-tree, throw me, if you please,
Throw me down a slender branch of russet-gold keys.
I fear the gates of Fairyland may all be shut so fast
That nothing but your magic keys will ever take me past.
I'll tie them to my girdle, and as I go along
My heart will find a comfort in the tinkle of their song.


Holly-bush, holly-bush, help me in my task,
A pocketful of berries is all the alms I ask:
A pocketful of berries to thread in golden strands
(I would not go a-visiting with nothing in my hands).
So fine will be the rosy chains, so gay, so glossy bright,
They'll set the realms of Fairyland all dancing with delight.

"THEY'LL SET THE REALMS OF FAIRYLAND ALL DANCING WITH DELIGHT"


I Don't Like Beetles

I DON'T like beetles, tho' I'm sure they're very good,
I don't like porridge, tho' my Nanna says I should;
I don't like the cistern in the attic where I play,
And the funny noise the bath makes when the water runs away.


I don't like the feeling when my gloves are made of silk,
And that dreadful slimy skinny stuff on top of hot milk;
I don't like tigers, not even in a book,
And, I know it's very naughty, but I don't like Cook!

Wishes

I WISH I liked rice pudding,
I wish I were a twin,
I wish some day a real live fairy
Would just come walking in.


I wish when I'm at table
My feet would touch the floor,
I wish our pipes would burst next winter,
Just like they did next door.


I wish that I could whistle
Real proper grown-up tunes,
I wish they'd let me sweep the chimneys
On rainy afternoons.


I've got such heaps of wishes,
I've only said a few;
I wish that I could wake some morning
And find they'd all come true!