| |
I. ON a little piece of wood | |
| Mr. Spikky Sparrow stood: | |
| Mrs. Sparrow sate close by, | |
| A-making of an insect-pie | |
| For her little children five, | 5 |
| In the nest and all alive; | |
| Singing with a cheerful smile, | |
| To amuse them all the while, | |
| “Twikky wikky wikky wee, | |
| Wikky bikky twikky tee, | 10 |
| Spikky bikky bee!” | |
| |
II. Mrs. Spikky Sparrow said, | |
| “Spikky, darling! in my head | |
| Many thoughts of trouble come, | |
| Like to flies upon a plum. | 15 |
| All last night, among the trees, | |
| I heard you cough, I heard you sneeze; | |
| And thought I, ‘It ’s come to that | |
| Because he does not wear a hat!’ | |
| Chippy wippy sikky tee, | 20 |
| Bikky wikky tikky mee, | |
| Spikky chippy wee! | |
| |
III. “Not that you are growing old; | |
| But the nights are growing cold. | |
| No one stays out all night long | 25 |
| Without a hat: I ’m sure it ’s wrong!” | |
| Mr. Spikky said, “How kind, | |
| Dear, you are, to speak your mind! | |
| All your life I wish you luck! | |
| You are, you are, a lovely duck! | 30 |
| Witchy witchy witchy wee, | |
| Twitchy witchy witchy bee, | |
| Tikky tikky tee! | |
| |
IV. “I was also sad, and thinking, | |
| When one day I saw you winking, | 35 |
| And I heard you sniffle-snuffle, | |
| And I saw your feathers ruffle: | |
| To myself I sadly said, | |
| ‘She ’s neuralgia in her head! | |
| That dear head has nothing on it! | 40 |
| Ought she not to wear a bonnet?’ | |
| Witchy kitchy kitchy wee, | |
| Spikky wikky mikky bee, | |
| Chippy wippy chee! | |
| |
V. “Let us both fly up to town: | 45 |
| There I ’ll buy you such a gown! | |
| Which, completely in the fashion, | |
| You shall tie a sky-blue sash on; | |
| And a pair of slippers neat | |
| To fit your darling little feet, | 50 |
| So that you will look and feel | |
| Quite galloobious and genteel. | |
| Jikky wikky bikky see, | |
| Chicky bikky wikky bee, | |
| Twitchy witchy wee!” | 55 |
| |
VI. So they both to London went, | |
| Alighting on the Monument; | |
| Whence they flew down swiftly—pop! | |
| Into Moses’ wholesale shop: | |
| There they bought a hat and bonnet, | 60 |
| And a gown with spots upon it, | |
| A satin sash of Cloxam blue, | |
| And a pair of slippers too. | |
| Zikky wikky mikky bee, | |
| Witchy witchy mitchy kee, | 65 |
| Sikky tikky wee! | |
| |
VII. Then, when so completely dressed, | |
| Back they flew, and reached their nest. | |
| Their children cried, “O ma and pa! | |
| How truly beautiful you are!” | 70 |
| Said they, “We trust that cold or pain | |
| We shall never feel again; | |
| While, perched on tree or house or steeple, | |
| We now shall look like other people. | |
| Witchy witchy witchy wee, | 75 |
| Twikky mikky bikky bee, | |
| Zikky sikky tee!” | |
| |
