When I went to Fairyland

The Visit

When I went to Fairyland, visiting the Queen,
I rode upon a peacock, blue and gold and green;
Silver was the harness, crimson were the reins,
All hung about with silver bells that swung on silken chains.

When I went to Fairyland, indeed you cannot think
What pretty things I had to eat, what pretty things to drink.
And did you know that butterflies could sing like little birds?
And did you guess that fairy-talk is not a bit like words?

When I went to Fairyland - of all the lovely things! -
They really taught me how to fly, they gave me fairy wings;
And every night I listen for a tapping on the pane -
I want so very much to go to Fairyland again.

From The Rose Fyleman Fairy Book

1915 Housekeeper's Diary: March

This month's household wisdom from Flora Klickmann's 1915 book The Mistress of the Little House (previous posts here, here and here).

March

The main thing I took away from this was that it reads like a love letter to March!
For example:

• "March is the month when life is stirring and awakening on every side."

• "Open the windows, let in all the sun and air you can... the air on a bright March day is life-giving."

Other than that, there is a lot of advice for keeping the house free of fleas and mice - thank goodness this is isn't really a big problem for us these days!

Shakespeare: A good heart...

Today's Shakespeare quote from The Shakespeare Birthday Book

"But a good heart is the sun and moon; or rather the sun and not the moon; for it shines bright and never changes, but keeps his course truly."

Henry V. Act v. Sc. 2.

Spring is here

Spring is here

When baby buds are waking in their cradles high,
And tree-tops are a-shaking as the wind goes by,
The Pussy-Willows nod their furry heads and cry,
"Me you, me you, me you -
Spring is here,
Little dear,
For me and you."

When birdies are a-cheeping on the garden wall,
And green is all a-creeping where the sunbeams fall,
The Pussy-Willows nod their furry heads and call,
"Me you, me you, me you -
Spring is here,
Little dear,
For me and you."

By Florence Hoatson, taken from Harry Golding's book Verses For Children