Rhymes of a Child's World by Miriam Clark Potter - HTML preview

 RAIN-ON-THE-ROOF

Rain upon the roof in the garret; little fingers knocking on the pane;

A fairy voice is calling in the splashing and the falling,

“I am the rain—the rain!”

Shadows, shadows, shadows, in the corner by the eaves;

Wet against the windows lie the little faded leaves.

Rain upon the roof in the garret; play we are a pirate crew at sea;

Play the old oak chest, in the veil of cobwebs dressed,

Is a leaking, creaking ship, the “Stinging Bee”;

Play the broken cradle, where our pile of play-things lie,

Is an island full of treasure, where we’ll anchor by and by.

Rain upon the roof in the garret; shadows, dust, and cobwebs all around;

We know the game to play, on a dark and blowy day,

And we launch the “Stinging Bee” without a sound;

With a pilot at the spinning wheel, we’ll land, at the break of day,

On lonely Cradle Island, and steal all the things away.