THE LITTLE BOY WHO WENT OUT TO SWIM.
BY HENRY HOWLAND.
A little boy went out to swim,
One pleasant day in June,
And the fish all came to talk to him,
That summer afternoon.
"Come down, dear little boy," they said,
"And let us show to you
The homes of fish, merman and maid.
Under the waters blue.
"We'll show you where the naiads sleep,
And where the tritons dwell;
The treasures of the unknown deep,
The coral and the shell.
"The siren's song shall charm your ears,
And lull you into rest;
No monster shall arouse your fears,
Or agitate your breast."
The little boy was glad to go;
And all the company
Of fish escorted him below,--
A pageant brave to see!
The pilot-fish swam on ahead,
The shark was at his heels;
The dolphin a procession led
Of porpoise, whale, and eels.
The trout, all brave in red and gold,
Many a caper cut;
And after them came crowds untold
Of cod and halibut.
The blue-fish with the black-fish swam;
Who knows the joy each felt?
The perch was escort to the clam,
The oyster to the smelt.
The muscalonge, from northern lake,
That leaps the harbor bar,
Swam closely in the sturgeon's wake,
Famous for caviar!
The haddock floated side by side
With carp from foreign shore,
And with them, through the seething tide,
Went scollops by the score.
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