The Violet

 THE VIOLET

"Oh, mother! mother! only look!
See what I've got for thee;
I found it close beside the brook, -
This pretty violet, - see.

"And father says there will be more
So, mother, when they come,
We'll pick my little basket full,
And bring them with us home.

"And, mother, - only listen now!
'Tis very strange, indeed, -
This pretty flower, with leaves and all,
Was once a little seed.

"When it was planted in the ground,
The sun shone very bright.
And made the little seed so warm,
It grew with all its might."

"Yes, Charles: the bright sun made it warm,
'T was wet with rain and dew;
The leaves came first, and then, ere long,
We found the violet blue.

"Charley, I think when we are good,
Obedient, and kind,
Good feelings, like the little flowers,
Are growing in the mind.

"But when we suff'er evil thoughts
To grow and flourish there.
Then they are like the noxious weeds.
That choke the flowerets fair."