Poems (Terry, 1861)/A child's wish

by Rose Terry Cooke

A CHILD'S WISH.

"Be my fairy, mother,
 Give me a wish a day;
Something, as well in sunshine
 As when the rain-drops play."

"And if I were a fairy,
 With but one wish to spare,
What should I give thee, darling,
 To quiet thine earnest prayer?"

"I'd like a little brook, mother,
 All for my very own,
To laugh all day among the trees,
 And shine on the mossy stone;

"To run right under the window,
 And sing me fast asleep, Le
With soft steps and a tender sound,
 Over the grass to creep.

"Make it run down the hill, mother,
 With a leap like a tinkling bell,
So fast I never can catch the leaf
 That into its fountain fell.

"Make it as wild as a frightened bird,
 As crazy as a bee,
And a noise like the baby's funny laugh;
 That's the brook for me!"