



Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Sankar Viswanathan, and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net









                      [Illustration: DANDELIONS]

           Dandelions, dandelions, shining through the dew,
           Let the Kings have Cloth of Gold, but let _us_ have _you_!




                         CHILD SONGS OF CHEER



                                  BY

                            EVALEEN STEIN



                           ILLUSTRATIONS BY

                          ANTOINETTE INGLIS




                                BOSTON

                      LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.

                       Published, August, 1918



                           COPYRIGHT, 1918,
                    BY LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO.

       *       *       *       *       *




    _Dear Children, all the little words
      These printed pages through,
    They are a flock of little birds
      I bring to sing to you.

    Sometimes they sing of foolish things,
      And other times they try
    To tell their gladness when their wings
      Soar up to seek the sky.

    So, Sweethearts, do but kindly hark!
      If but a sparrow throng,
    Or if among them there's a lark,
      To you their songs belong!_

       *       *       *       *       *




Contents


Up, Little Ones!

Dandelions

Our Puppies

The Lost Balloon

The Circus Procession

May-Baskets

The Picture-Book Giant

Did You Ever?

Decoration Day

Chu-Chu Cars

Fairy Rings

The Firefly

A Rain Song

Fairies

The Little Fir-Trees

The Wren-House

The Baby's Ride

An Indian Raid

The First Sleigh-Ride

Sleepy Time

When Bettie and Anne Went Walking

The Bluebird

The Organ-Grinder

The New Moon

Showery Time

Easter Day

The Sandman

Dandelion Curls

Pop-Corn

The Rash Little Sparrow

What If?

Easter Eggs

The Birds' Bath

November Morning

The Runaway

Lost!

The Queen's Page

Our Tree-Toad

In the Water-World

Who Was It?

Visiting Day

A Valentine to Catherine

Fireflies

The Rainy Day

The First Red-Bird

The Weather-Vane

The Swan

Baby's Baking

A Sure Sign

Another Sure Sign

The Robin's Bath

The Frosted Pane

The First Snow

Grandfather Knows

Sleigh-Bells

The Red-Bird

Wild Beasts

Wherefore Wings?

Basking

With a May-Basket for Baby Agnes

The Little Nest

Christmas Candles

A Song of the Christmas-Tree

Our Kittens

In July

A Valentine to a Little Child

Zip!

A Little Carol

Song

The Three Candles

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Illustrations


DANDELIONS

Dandelions, dandelions, shining through the dew,
Let the kings have Cloth of Gold, but let _us_
have _you_!                                   _Frontispiece_

FAIRY RINGS

See them dancing, dancing,
While the silver moon
Tips their swiftly glancing
Little silver shoon!

THE BIRDS' BATH

When the sun shines warm and high
Robins cluster round its brink

CHRISTMAS CANDLES

We can tell Him of our love
If we set a light for Him

       *       *       *       *       *




Child Songs of Cheer

UP, LITTLE ONES!


    A robin redbreast, fluting there
      Upon the apple-bough,
    Is telling all the world how fair
      Are apple-blossoms now;
    The honey-dew its sweetness spills
      From cuckoo-cups, and all
    The crocuses and daffodils
      Are drest for festival!

    Such pretty things are to be seen,
      Such pleasant things to do,
    The April earth it is so green,
      The April sky so blue,
    The path from dawn to even-song
      So joyous is to-day,
    Up, little ones! and dance along
      The lilac-scented way!




DANDELIONS


    Hey-a-day-a-day, my dear! Dandelion time!
    Come, and let us make for them a pretty little rhyme!

    See the meadows twinkling now, beautiful and bright
    As the sky when through the blue shine the stars at night!

    Once upon a time, folks say, mighty kings of old
    Met upon a splendid field called "The Cloth of Gold."

    But, we wonder, could it be there was ever seen
    Brighter gold than glitters now in our meadows green?

    Dandelions, dandelions, shining through the dew,
    Let the kings have Cloth of Gold, but let _us_ have _you_!




OUR PUPPIES


    Little ears as soft as silk,
    Little teeth as white as milk,
    Little noses cool and pink,
    Little eyes that blink and blink,
    Little bodies round and fat,
    Little hearts that pit-a-pat,
    Surely prettier puppies never
    Were before nor can be ever!




THE LOST BALLOON


    O dear! my purple toy balloon
    Has flown away! and very soon
    It will be high up as the moon!

    And don't you think the man up there
