Page:St. Nicholas - Volume 41, Part 1.djvu/74

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THE BROWNIES BUILD A BRIDGE

BY PALMER COX

To throw a bridge across the stream?
Said one, as they stood by the place
And watched the water in its race:
Not only for ourselves in haste,
When wading fails to suit our taste,
But for the people who must cross
On slippery stones all green with moss,

To build a bridge from
shore to shore
Across a stream where
waters pour
In haste to mix their sparkling flow
With ocean waves some miles below,
Is not a task to waken fear
Or questions in an engineer.
Then why should doubt oppress a band
Who have all kinds of trades at hand,
When they have in their heads a scheme

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