Over in the meadow,
In a nest built of sticks,
Lived a black mother crow
And her little crows six.
"Caw," said the mother;
"We caw," said the six—
So they cawed and they cawed
In their nest built of sticks.
Over in the meadow,
Where the grass is so even,
Lived a gay mother cricket
And her little crickets seven.
"Chirp!" said the mother;
"We chirp," said the seven—
So they chirped cheery notes
In the grass soft and even.
Over in the meadow,
By an old mossy gate,
Lived a brown mother lizard,
And her little lizards eight.
"Bask!" said the mother;
"We bask," said the eight—
So they basked in the sun
By the old mossy gate.
Over in the meadow,
Where the quiet pools shine,
Lived a green mother frog
And her little froggies nine.
"Croak," said the mother;
"We croak," said the nine—
So they croaked and they splashed
Where the quiet pools shine.
Over in the meadow
In a dark little den,
Lived a gray mother spider
And her little spiders ten.
"Spin," said the mother;
"We spin," said the ten—
So they spun lace webs
In their dark little den.
Over in the meadow,
In the soft summer even,
Lived a mother firefly
And her little flies eleven.
"Glow," said the mother;
"We glow," said the eleven—
So they glowed like stars
In the soft summer even.
Over in the meadow,
Where the men dig and delve
Lived a wise mother ant,
And her little ants twelve.
"Toil," said the mother;
"We toil," said the twelve—
So they toiled and were wise
Where the men dig and delve.
— Olive A. Wadsworth
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