# Sing-Song: My Clothes Are Soft and Warm - Source: Sing-Song (sing-song.gutenberg.org), Public domain, Christina Rossetti, pictures by Arthur Hughes, 1872, via Project Gutenberg - Reading level: Ages 4 to 6 - Subjects: Poems, Nature, Animals - Topics: snow, warm, knee, little, plum, amongst - Length: 363 words, about 3 min - Original: - Page: - Open in Sprouts: My clothes are soft and warm, Fold upon fold, But I’m so sorry for the poor Out in the cold. ## I dug and dug amongst the snow I dug and dug amongst the snow, And thought the flowers would never grow; I dug and dug amongst the sand, And still no green thing came to hand. ## Melt, O snow! the warm winds blow Melt, O snow! the warm winds blow To thaw the flowers and melt the snow But all the winds from every land Will rear no blossom from the sand. ## A city plum is not a plum A city plum is not a plum; A dumb-bell is no bell, though dumb A party rat is not a rat; A sailor’s cat is not a cat; A soldier’s frog is not a frog; A captain’s log is not a log. ## Your brother has a falcon Your brother has a falcon, Your sister has a flower; But what is left for mannikin, Born within an hour? ## I’ll nurse you on my knee, my knee I’ll nurse you on my knee, my knee, My own little son; I’ll rock you, rock you, in my arms, My least little one. ## Hear what the mournful linnets say Hear what the mournful linnets say: “We built our nest compact and warm. But cruel boys came round our way And took our summerhouse by storm. ## “They crushed the eggs so neatly laid “They crushed the eggs so neatly laid; So now we sit with drooping wing, And watch the ruin they have made, Too late to build, too sad to sing.” ## Hop-o’-my-thumb and little Jack Horner Hop-o’-my-thumb and little Jack Horner, What do you mean by tearing and fighting? Sturdy dog Trot close round the corner, I never caught him growling and biting. ## Hope is like a harebell trembling from its birth Hope is like a harebell trembling from its birth. Love is like a rose the joy of all the earth; Faith is like a lily lifted high and white, Love is like a lovely rose the world’s delight; Harebells and sweet lilies show a thornless growth, But the rose with all its thorns excels them both. ## Picture credits - Arthur Hughes, Public domain () - Arthur Hughes, Public domain () - Arthur Hughes, Public domain () - Arthur Hughes, Public domain () - Arthur Hughes, Public domain () - Arthur Hughes, Public domain ()