Before You Sleep

I can't believe I will be able to see some things that I do really miss. But magically, several days ago I found them; and one among them is my most precious, favorite childhood book:

Even until now, I do like the book, still. It consists of children rhymes, some of them are dramatic, some are just how rhymes should be, and some are funny. But all of them are really nice to give you tongue-in-cheek before you sleep, accompanied with nice kiddy-toned illustrations.

The followings are the rhymes that stand out among the others for me.

The Moon by Robert Louis Stevenson

The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and fields and harbour quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.

The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the moon.

But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall rise.

Block City by Robert Louis Stevenson

What are you able to build with your blocks?
Castles and palaces, temples and docks.
Rain may keep raining, and others go roam,
But I can be happy and building at home.

Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet be sea,
There I'll establish a city for me:
A kirk and a mill and a palace beside,
And a harbour as well where my vessels may ride.

Great is the palace with pillar and wall,
A sort of a tower on top of it all,
And steps coming down in an orderly way
To where my toy vessels lie safe in the bay.

This one is sailing and that one is moored:
Hark to the song of the sailors on board!
And see on the steps of my palace, the kings
Coming and going with presents and things!

Now I have done with it, down let it go!
All in a moment the town is laid low.
Block upon block lying scattered and free,
What is there left of my town by the sea?

Yet as I saw it, I see it again,
The kirk and the palace, the ships and the main,
And as long as I live where'er I may be,
I'll always remember my town by the sea.

The Policeman by Jan Struther

Every few hours
Throughout the night
He comes to see
That the Square is all right.
Slowly and solemnly
Round he goes
On his great flat feet
With their great blunt toes,
Shifting his very
Portentous weight
From side to side
With a rolling gait.
He flashes his lantern
Up and down;
His brows are bent
In an ominous frown
To see him you'd think
No thief would dare
To crack a crib
In Sycamore Square.

Yet when he's at home
You'll probably find
He's a jovial man
And extremely kind,
Who likes his pint
And a kipper for tea
The same as you —
Or, at any rate, me.

Daddy Fell Into the Pond by Alfred Noyes

Everyone grumbled. The sky was grey.
We had nothing to do and nothing to say.
We were nearing the end of a dismal day,
And there seemed to be nothing beyond.

THEN

Daddy fell into the pond!

And everyone's face grew merry and bright,
And Timothy danced for sheer delight.
"Give me the camera, quick, oh quick!
He's crawling out of the duckweed."

Click!

Then the gardener suddenly slapped his knee,
And he doubled up, shaking silently,
And the ducks all quacked as if they were daft
And it sounded as if the old drake laughed.

O, there wasn't a thing that didn't respond

WHEN

Daddy fell into the pond!

There are still many more nice rhymes too long to be written here. We realize that sometimes, things like these make us wish we are a child forever.