Fanny’s Garden


"I LOVE the roses fragrant;

For they are fair and sweet;

I love the modest daisy

That blossoms at my feet;

I love the stately lily,

It is so pure and white;

I love the purple pansy,

So innocent and bright."

Thus Fanny said, and planted

These flowers in the spring;

It was the time for gardens

When birds were on the wing.

But, ah! How long she waited

Before the blossoms grew,

They needed so much sunshine,

And rain, and air, and dew!

Her mother saw her watching,

And said to her one day:

"No wonder you are weary

With such a long delay.

I, too, have a fair garden

Where I must work and wait;

I sometimes fear the blossoms

Will come for you too late.

"I planted truth and virtue,

And faith, and hope, and love;

I taught the little tendrils

The way to climb above.

They are so slow in growing,

It makes the tear-drops start;

That garden fair, my darling,

“Is little Fanny's heart!"






—The Bright Side.