Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful world, With the wonderful water round you curled, And the wonderful grass upon your breast- World, you are beautifully drest.
The wonderful air is over me,
And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree; It walks on the water, and whirls the mills, And talks to itself on the tops of the hills.
You friendly earth, how far do you go,
With the wheat-fields that nod and the rivers that flow with cities and gardens, and cliffs and isles,And people upon you for thousands of miles?
Ah, you are so great, and I am so small, I can hardly think of you, world, at all; And yet, when I said my prayers to-day, A whisper within me seemed to say:-"You are more than the earth, though you"re such a dot: You can love and think, and the earth cannot."-William Brighty Rands
Author.-William Brighty Rands was an English poet and essayist, who was born in 1823; he died in 1882. He wrote a charming prose book called Lilliput Legends, as well as many short poems. He wrote chiefly for children, and all his thoughts are wise and good.
General Notes.-How is the world dressed? Why is the air wonderful?
Why is the wind wonderful? What other things are on the earth"s surface besides those mentioned? Why is a boy more than the earth?