Upon the nursery window-pane
There's pitter-pattering of rain...
Along the nursery landing there's a very old oak box
That's full of coats and shawls inside, and curtains, hats, and frocks.
We go along the landing
'Cos it's a rainy day,
And push the box-lid open wide,
And then dress up and play.
There's me, and my friend Isobel,
And Miggy comes along as well.
And Isobel's a lady, so she dresses up all grand.
She 'tends she's talking Spanish, and we never understand.
She wears the dress like silver,
And has the shawl from Spain,
And pins a curtain round her waist
To make a lovely train.
She holds a fan, and always loves
To wear the pair of long white gloves.
And Miggy chooses anything that's bright and nice to touch.
She's only three - so Isobel won't let her have too much.
She has the things left over,
And bits that she can find;
And nothing fits her very well,
But Miggy doesn't mind.
She piles the hats up by the wall,
And likes to sit and wear them all.
But I dress up in sailor clothes, and 'tend I'm off to sea;
They're Uncle Philip's sailor clothes, and rather big for me;
But I can do a hornpipe,
And lots of sailor things -
Like sailing round the world and back -
Before the tea-bell rings.
And then I rattle chains about,
And shout, and throw the anchor out.
We take the dressing-up clothes off (and what we've torn is hid).
We put the clothes back in the box, and some one shuts the lid...
And then we hear the rain again
Upon the nursery window-pane.
From Marion St John Webb's book The Little One In Between, illustrated by Margaret W. Tarrant
