poem - Little Orphant Annie
by James Whitcomb Riley
Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay
An' wash the cups and saucers up an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
An' all us other childern, when the supper things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
a' list'nin' to the witch tales 'at Annie tells about
And the Gobble-uns'll git ya' ... Ef you don't ... Watch ... OUT!
Onc't there was this little boy wouldn't say his prayers
An' when he went to bed at night, way up the stairs,
His momma heard him holler and his daddy heard him howl
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't there at all!
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room and cubby-hole and press
An' they seeked him up the chimbly-flue and ... ever'wheres, I guess.
But all they ever found was thist - his pants and round-about
And the Gobble-uns'll git ya' ... Ef you don't ... Watch ... OUT!
An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
An' make fun of ever'one, an' all her blood an' kin;
An' onc't, when they was "company," an' ole folks was there,
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
They was two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,
An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!
An' the Gobble-uns'll git ya' ... Ef you don't ... Watch ... OUT!
An' little Orphant Annie says when the blaze is blue,
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--
You better mind yer parents, an' yer teachers fond an' dear,
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns'll git ya' ... Ef you Don't ... Watch ... OUT!
Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay
An' wash the cups and saucers up an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
An' all us other childern, when the supper things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
a' list'nin' to the witch tales 'at Annie tells about
And the Gobble-uns'll git ya' ... Ef you don't ... Watch ... OUT!
Onc't there was this little boy wouldn't say his prayers
An' when he went to bed at night, way up the stairs,
His momma heard him holler and his daddy heard him howl
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't there at all!
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room and cubby-hole and press
An' they seeked him up the chimbly-flue and ... ever'wheres, I guess.
But all they ever found was thist - his pants and round-about
And the Gobble-uns'll git ya' ... Ef you don't ... Watch ... OUT!
An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
An' make fun of ever'one, an' all her blood an' kin;
An' onc't, when they was "company," an' ole folks was there,
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
They was two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,
An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!
An' the Gobble-uns'll git ya' ... Ef you don't ... Watch ... OUT!
An' little Orphant Annie says when the blaze is blue,
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--
You better mind yer parents, an' yer teachers fond an' dear,
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns'll git ya' ... Ef you Don't ... Watch ... OUT!