Kindergarten Read Aloud Banquet

Nursery Songs for January

A Child's Garden of Verses

Young Night-Thought

All night long and every night,
When my mama puts out the light,
I see the people marching by,
As plain as day before my eye.

Armies and emperors and kings,
All carrying different kinds of things,
And marching in so grand a way,
You never saw the like by day.

So fine a show was never seen
At the great circus on the green;
For every kind of beast and man
Is marching in that caravan.

As first they move a little slow,
But still the faster on they go,
And still beside me close I keep
Until we reach the town of Sleep.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Week 52	Christmas in the Barn	Christmas Morning	Babouscka	A Christmas Star	The Promise	The Christmas Tops	The Christmas Rose
Week 52	The Friendly Beasts	An Old English Carol	How Far Is It to Bethlehem?	Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star	Sunny Bank	A Visit from St. Nicholas	Christmas Day and Every Day

Frederick Richardson's Book for Children by Frederick Richardson
[Illustration]

dropcap image NCE on a time there were three Billy-goats, who were to go up to the hill-side to make themselves fat, and the name of all three was Gruff.

On the way up was a bridge over a burn they had to cross; and under this bridge lived a great ugly Troll, with eyes as big as saucers, and a nose as long as a poker.

So first of all came the youngest billy-goat Gruff to cross the bridge.

"Trip, trap; trip, trap!" went the bridge.

"WHO'S THAT tripping over my bridge?" roared the Troll.

"Oh! it is only I, the tiniest billy-goat Gruff; and I'm going up to the hill-side to make myself fat," said the billy-goat, with such a small voice.

"Now, I'm coming to gobble you up," said the Troll.

"Oh, no! pray don't take me. I'm too little, that I am," said the billy-goat; "wait a bit till the second billy-goat Gruff comes. He's much bigger."

"Well! be off with you," said the Troll.

A little while after came the second billy-goat Gruff to cross the bridge.

"TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP!" went the bridge,

"WHO'S THAT tripping over my bridge?" roared the Troll.

"Oh! it's the second billy-goat Gruff, and I'm going up to the hill-side to make myself fat," said the billy-goat, who hadn't such a small voice.

"Now, I'm coming to gobble you up," said the Troll.

"Oh, no! don't take me. Wait a little till the big billy-goat Gruff comes. He's much bigger."

"Very well! be off with you," said the Troll.

But just then up came the big billy-goat Gruff.

"TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP!" went the bridge, for the billy-goat was so heavy that the bridge creaked and groaned under him.

"WHO'S THAT tramping over my bridge?" roared the Troll.

"IT'S I! THE BIG BILLY-GOAT GRUFF," said the billy-goat, who had an ugly, hoarse voice of his own.

"Now, I'm coming to gobble you up," roared the Troll.

"Well, come along! I've got two spears,

And I'll poke your nose and pierce your ears;

I've got besides two curling-stones,

And I'll bruise your body and rattle your bones."

That was what the big billy-goat said; and so he flew at the Troll, and tossed him out into the burn, and after that he went up to the hill-side. There the billy-goats got so fat they were scarcely able to walk home again; and if the fat hasn't fallen of them, why they're still fat; and so:

Snip, snap, snout,

This tale's told out.