Bo-Peep

1.
Little Bo-Peep, she lost her sheep,
And didn't know where to find them;
Let them alone, they'll all come home
And bring their tails behind them.

2.
Little Bo-Peep fell fast asleep,
And dreamt she heard them bleating;
But when she awoke, she found it a joke,
For they were still a-fleeting.

3.
Then up she took her little crook,
Determined for to find them,
She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed
For they'd left their tails behind them.

4.
It happened one day as Bo-Peep did stray
Into a meadow hard by,
There she espied their tails side by side,
All hung on a tree to dry.

5.
She heaved a sigh and wiped her eye,
Then went o'er hill and dale,
And tried what she could, as a shepherdess should,
To tack to each sheep its tail.

Walter Crane

Walter Crane was an English artist and book illustrator, considered to be one of the most prolific and influential children's book creators of his generation. Born on August 15, 1845, and passing away on March 14, 1915, he was part of the Arts and Crafts movement and is known for his innovative contributions to children's literature. His work often combined art and poetry, aiming to educate and delight young readers.

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English

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Little Bo-Beep.

What was Bo-Peep? Can anyone guess?
Why, little Bo-Peep was a shepherdess!
And she dressed in a short white petticoat,
And a kirtle of blue, with a looped-up look,
And a snowy kerchief about her throat,
And held in her hand a crook.

What eyes she had, the little Bo-Peep!
They had tears to laugh with, and tears to weep.
So fringy, and shy, and blue, and sweet,
That even the summer skies in color,
Or the autumn gentians under her feet,
Less tender were and duller.

Now, a shepherdess ought to watch her sheep;
But the careless little girl, Bo-Peep,
Was hunting for late wild strawberries,
The sweetest her tongue had ever tasted;
They were few in number, and small in size,
Too good, though, to be wasted.

And in that way the little Bo-Peep...

Clara Doty Bates

Little Bo-Peep


Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,
And can't tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, and they'll come home,
And bring their tails behind them.



Little Bo-Peep fell fast asleep,
And dreamt she heard them bleating;
But when she awoke, she found it a joke,
For they were still a-fleeting.

Then up she took her little crook,
Determined for to find them;
She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,
For they'd left all their tails behind 'em.

Leonard Brooke

Little Bo-Peep

Little Bo-Peep, she has lost her sheep,
    And will not know where to find them;
They are over the height and out of sight,
    Trailing their tails behind them!

Little Bo-Peep woke out of her sleep,
    Jump'd up and set out to find them:
"The silly things! they've got no wings,
    And they've left their trails behind them!

"They've taken their tails, but they've left their trails,
    And so I shall follow and find them!"
For wherever a tail had dragged a trail
    The grass lay bent behind them.

She washed in the brook, and caught up her crook.
    And after her sheep did run
Along the trail that went up the dale
    Across the grass in the sun.

She ran with a will, and she came to a hill
    That went up steep like a spire;

George MacDonald

Nursery Rhyme. CXLIII. Songs.

    Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep,
        And can't tell where to find them;
    Leave them alone, and they'll come home,
        And bring their tails behind them.

    Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep,
        And dreamt she heard them bleating;
    But when she awoke, she found it a joke,
        For they still were all fleeting.

    Then up she took her little crook,
        Determin'd for to find them;
    She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,
        For they'd left all their tails behind 'em.

Unknown

The Idle Shepherd Boys

The valley rings with mirth and joy;
Among the hills the echoes play
A never never ending song,
To welcome in the May.
The magpie chatters with delight;
The mountain raven's youngling brood
Have left the mother and the nest;
And they go rambling east and west
In search of their own food;
Or through the glittering vapors dart
In very wantonness of heart.

Beneath a rock, upon the grass,
Two boys are sitting in the sun;
Their work, if any work they have,
Is out of mind, or done.
On pipes of sycamore they play
The fragments of a Christmas hymn;
Or with that plant which in our dale
We call stag-horn, or fox's tail,
Their rusty hats they trim:
And thus, as happy as the day,
Those Shepherds wear the time away.

Along the river...

William Wordsworth

A Shepherd's Dream

A silly shepherd lately sat
    Among a flock of sheep;
Where musing long on this and that,
    At last he fell asleep.
And in the slumber as he lay,
    He gave a piteous groan;
He thought his sheep were run away,
    And he was left alone.
He whoop'd, he whistled, and he call'd,
    But not a sheep came near him;
Which made the shepherd sore appall'd
    To see that none would hear him.
But as the swain amazèd stood,
    In this most solemn vein,
Came Phyllida forth of the wood,
    And stood before the swain.
Whom when the shepherd did behold
    He straight began to weep,
And at the heart he grew a-cold,
    To think upon his sheep.
For well he knew, where came the queen,
    The shepherd durst not stay:
And where that he durs...

Nicholas Breton