# Sing-Song: When the Cows Come Home the Milk Is Coming - 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, Animals, Food - Topics: ferry, ding, dong, penny, purse, upon - Length: 267 words, about 2 min - Original: - Page: - Open in Sprouts: When the cows come home the milk is coming, Honey’s made while the bees are humming; Duck and drake on the rushy lake, And the deer live safe in the breezy brake; And timid, funny, brisk little bunny, Winks his nose and sits all sunny. ## Roses blushing red and white Roses blushing red and white, For delight; Honeysuckle wreaths above, For love; Dim sweet-scented heliotrope, For hope; Shining lilies tall and straight, For royal state; Dusky pansies, let them be For memory; With violets of fragrant breath, For death. ## “Ding a ding,” “Ding a ding,” The sweet bells sing, And say: “Come, all be gay” For a wedding day. ## “Dong a dong,” “Dong a dong,” The bells sigh long, And call: “Weep one, weep all” For a funeral. ## A ring upon her finger A ring upon her finger, Walks the bride, With the bridegroom tall and handsome At her side. ## A veil upon her forehead A veil upon her forehead, Walks the bride, With the bridegroom proud and merry At her side. ## Fling flowers beneath the footsteps Fling flowers beneath the footsteps Of the bride; Fling flowers before the bridegroom At her side. ## “Ferry me across the water “Ferry me across the water, Do, boatman, do.” “If you’ve a penny in your purse I’ll ferry you.” ## “I have a penny in my purse “I have a penny in my purse, And my eyes are blue; So ferry me across the water, Do, boatman, do.” ## “Step into my ferry-boat “Step into my ferry-boat, Be they black or blue, And for the penny in your purse I’ll ferry you.” ## Picture credits - Arthur Hughes, Public domain () - Arthur Hughes, Public domain () - Arthur Hughes, Public domain () - Arthur Hughes, Public domain () - Arthur Hughes, Public domain ()