VESPERS

A. A. MILNE

LITTLE boy kneels at the foot of the bed

Droops on the little hands little gold head.

Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!

Christopher Robin is saying bis prayers.

"God bless Mummy—I know that's right —

What fun we had in the bath tonight!

The cold's so cold and the hot's so hot—

Oh, God bless Daddy—I quite forgot.

"If I open my fingers a little bit more,

I can see Nanny's dressing-gown on the door,

It's a beautiful pink, but it hasn't a hood—

Oh, God bless Nanny and make me good.

"Mine lias a hood, and I lie in bed,

And I pull the hood right over my head,

And I shut my eyes, and I curl up small,

And nobody knows that I'm there at all.

"And thank you God, for a lovely day,

And—what is the other I have to say?

I've said "Bless Daddy," so what can it be?

Oh, now I remember it. "GocZ bless me."

Little boy kneels at the foot of the bed,

Droops on the little hands little gold bead:

Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!

Christopher Robin is saying bis prayers.