Child Songs of Cheer

<h2><SPAN name="THE_LITTLE_FIR-TREES" id="THE_LITTLE_FIR-TREES"></SPAN>THE LITTLE FIR-TREES</h2> <div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Hey! little evergreens,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Sturdy and strong!<br/></span> <span class="i0">Summer and autumn time<br/></span> <span class="i2">Hasten along;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Harvest the sunbeams, then,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Bind them in sheaves,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Range them, and change them<br/></span> <span class="i2">To tufts of green leaves.<br/></span> <span class="i0">Delve in the mellow mold,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Far, far below,<br/></span> <span class="i4">And so,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Little evergreens, grow!<br/></span> <span class="i4">Grow, grow!<br/></span> <span class="i0">Grow, little evergreens, grow!<br/></span> <span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Up, up so airily<br/></span> <span class="i2">To the blue sky,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Lift up your leafy tips<br/></span> <span class="i2">Stately and high;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Clasp tight your tiny cones,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Tawny and brown;<br/></span> <span class="i0">By and by, buffeting<br/></span> <span class="i2">Rains will pelt down;<br/></span> <span class="i0">By and by, bitterly<br/></span> <span class="i2">Chill winds will blow;<br/></span> <span class="i4">And so,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Little evergreens, grow!<br/></span> <span class="i4">Grow, grow!<br/></span> <span class="i0">Grow, little evergreens, grow!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">Gather all uttermost<br/></span> <span class="i2">Beauty, because,&mdash;<br/></span> <span class="i0">Hark, till I tell it now!<br/></span> <span class="i2">How Santa Claus,<br/></span> <span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</SPAN></span><span class="i0">Out of the northern land,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Over the seas,<br/></span> <span class="i0">Soon shall come seeking you,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Evergreen trees!<br/></span> <span class="i0">Seek you with reindeer soon,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Over the snow;<br/></span> <span class="i4">And so,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Little evergreens, grow!<br/></span> <span class="i4">Grow, grow!<br/></span> <span class="i0">Grow, little evergreens, grow!<br/></span></div> <div class="stanza"> <span class="i0">What if the maples flare<br/></span> <span class="i2">Flaunting and red,<br/></span> <span class="i0">You shall wear waxen white<br/></span> <span class="i2">Tapers instead!<br/></span> <span class="i0">What if now, otherwhere,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Birds are beguiled,<br/></span> <span class="i0">You shall yet nestle<br/></span> <span class="i2">The little Christ-child!<br/></span> <span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</SPAN></span><span class="i0">Ah! the strange splendor<br/></span> <span class="i2">The fir-trees shall know!<br/></span> <span class="i4">And so,<br/></span> <span class="i2">Little evergreens, grow!<br/></span> <span class="i4">Grow, grow!<br/></span> <span class="i0">Grow, little evergreens, grow!<br/></span></div> </div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</SPAN></span></p> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />