Tell you what I ike the best, 'long about knee-ddep in June,
'Bout the time strawberries melts on the vine, some afternoon
Like to jes' git out and rest, and not work at nothin' else!
Maybe find a bluebird's nest, tucked up there conveenently
Fer the boy 'at's ap to be up some other apple tree!
Sun out in the fields can sizz, but flat on your back, I guess,
In the shade's where the glory is.
That's just what I'd like to do, steady for a year or two!
Lay out there and try to see jes' how lazy you kin be;
Tuble round and souse yer head in the clover-bloom, or pull
Yer straw hat acrost yer eyes and peek through it at the skies.
Month a man kin railly love---June, you know, I'm takin' of.
-- James Whitcomb Riley
A barefoot boy! I mark him at his play.....for June is here once more, and so is he......
His dusty trousers, rolled half to the knee, and his bare ankles grimy, too, as they;
Cross-hatchings of the nettle, in array of feverish stripes, hint vividly to me
Of woody pathways winding endlessly along the creek, where even yesterday
He plunged his shrinking body---gasped and shook---Yet called the water "warm," with never lack
Of joy. And so, half enviously I look upon this graceless barefoot and his track.
-- Edgar Guest
Snips and snails and puppy dogs' tails,
That's what little boys are made of.
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice and everything nice,
That what little girls are made of.
-- Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme
This rhyme dates back to the early 19th century; many interpretations have been offered for the meaning of "snips and snails," but one with some credibility suggests that the original words were "snips of snails".....snips meaning "little bits." But no interpretation has come forward that's done much to help a little boy's image in this rhyme! N.
Once there was a boy who never tore his clothes, or hardly ever.
Never made his sister mad, was never whipped for being bad.
Was never scolded by his Ma, never frowned at by his Pa,
Always fit fer folks to see, always good as good could be.
Used to study late at night, learnin' how to read an' write;
When he played a baseball game, right away he always came
When his mother called him in. An' he never made a din,
But was quiet as a mouse when thy'd comp'ny in the house.
He liked to wash his hands and face, liked to work around the place;
Never, whebn he'd tired of play, left his wagon in the way,
Or his bat an' ball around---put 'em where they could be found;
Or, anyway, so says my Ma.....an' today, he is my Pa!
-- Edgar Guest
Where below another sky parrot islands anchored lie,
And, watched by cockatoos and goats, lonely Crusoes build their boats.
Where in sunshine, reaching out, Eastern cities, miles about,
Are with mosque and minaret among sandy gardens set.
Where among the desert sands some deserted city stands,
All its children, sweep and prince, grown to manhood ages since,
Not a foot in street or house, not a stir of child or mouse,
And when kindly falls the night, in all the town no spark of light.
There I'll go when I'm a man, with a camel caravan;
Light a fire in the gloom of some dusty dining room;
See the pictures on the walls, heroes, fights and festivals;
And in a corner find the toys of the old Egyptian boys.
-- Robert Louis Stevenson
The Hardy Boys Page
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Life on the Mississippi
Zion Cooperative Mercantile Institution.....American's First Departnment Store:
Pioneer goods merchandise seldom seen in this centurey; historic books, pioneer reference books,
including "Schoolyard Games"
Field of Dreams (if you build it, they WILL come!)
The Boys of Bellwood School, a boy's novel written in 1883
With many thanks to my friend, Lois, for introducing me to the art of James Daly, whose work appears on this page. You can find his prints on the following sites:
Art USA Prints.com Art.com All Posters Art Checkout
And his books:
"Boys Will Be Boys: Celebrating the Adventurous Spirit in Every Little Boy"
"What Little Boys Are Made of"
Other poster / print sites:
Art Finale Poster to Go Zazzle 123Posters
