| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 1041. Little Boy Blue |
| | | By Eugene Field |
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| THE LITTLE toy dog is covered with dust, | |
| But sturdy and stanch he stands; | |
| And the little toy soldier is red with rust, | |
| And his musket moulds in his hands. | |
| Time was when the little toy dog was new, | 5 |
| And the soldier was passing fair; | |
| And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue | |
| Kissed them and put them there. | |
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| “Now, don’t you go till I come,” he said, | |
| “And don’t you make any noise!” | 10 |
| So, toddling off to his trundle-bed, | |
| He dreamt of the pretty toys; | |
| And, as he was dreaming, an angel song | |
| Awakened our Little Boy Blue— | |
| Oh! the years are many, the years are long, | 15 |
| But the little toy friends are true! | |
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| Ay, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand, | |
| Each in the same old place, | |
| A waiting the touch of a little hand, | |
| The smile of a little face; | 20 |
| And they wonder, as waiting the long years through | |
| In the dust of that little chair, | |
| What has become of our Little Boy Blue, | |
| Since he kissed them and put them there. | |
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