# Sing-Song: An Emerald Is As Green As Grass

- 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, How Things Work
- Topics: ladybird, rivers, sail, back, bridges, caught
- Length: 292 words, about 2 min
- Original: <https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/76703/pg76703-images.html>
- Page: <https://sprout.rootsofreason.org/r/sing-song/ss-15-an-emerald-is-as-green-as-grass>
- Open in Sprouts: <https://sprout.rootsofreason.org/?read=sing-song/ss-15-an-emerald-is-as-green-as-grass>

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An emerald is as green as grass;  
A ruby red as blood;  
A sapphire shines as blue as heaven;  
A flint lies in the mud.

## A diamond is a brilliant stone

A diamond is a brilliant stone,  
To catch the world’s desire;  
An opal holds a fiery spark;  
But a flint holds fire.

## Boats sail on the rivers

Boats sail on the rivers,  
And ships sail on the seas;  
But clouds that sail across the sky  
Are prettier far than these.

## There are bridges on the rivers

There are bridges on the rivers,  
As pretty as you please;  
But the bow that bridges heaven,  
And overtops the trees,  
And builds a road from earth to sky,  
Is prettier far than these.

## The lily has a smooth stalk

The lily has a smooth stalk,  
Will never hurt your hand;  
But the rose upon her briar  
Is lady of the land.

## There’s sweetness in an apple tree

There’s sweetness in an apple tree,  
And profit in the corn;  
But lady of all beauty  
Is a rose upon a thorn.

## When with moss and honey

When with moss and honey  
She tips her bending briar,  
And half unfolds her glowing heart,  
She sets the world on fire.

## Hurt no living thing

Hurt no living thing:  
Ladybird, nor butterfly,  
Nor moth with dusty wing,  
Nor cricket chirping cheerily,  
Nor grasshopper so light of leap,  
Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat,  
Nor harmless worms that creep.

## I caught a little ladybird

I caught a little ladybird  
That flies far away;  
I caught a little lady wife  
That is both staid and gay.

## Come back, my scarlet ladybird

Come back, my scarlet ladybird,  
Back from far away;  
I weary of my dolly wife,  
My wife that cannot play.

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## Picture credits

- Arthur Hughes, Public domain (<https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/76703/pg76703-images.html>)
- Arthur Hughes, Public domain (<https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/76703/pg76703-images.html>)
- Arthur Hughes, Public domain (<https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/76703/pg76703-images.html>)
- Arthur Hughes, Public domain (<https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/76703/pg76703-images.html>)
- Arthur Hughes, Public domain (<https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/76703/pg76703-images.html>)