King Log & King Stork

The Frogs prayed to Jove for a king:
"Not a log, but a livelier thing."
Jove sent them a Stork,
Who did royal work,
For he gobbled them up, did their king.

Don't Have Kings

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.

Walter Crane

Et Moi De M'en Courir

Walter Crane, Simple Poetry

The Mouse & The Lion

Walter Crane, Simple Poetry

Zwei Hasen

Walter Crane, Simple Poetry

Ye Jolly Miller

Walter Crane, Simple Poetry

English

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The Frogs Asking A King.

^[1]

A certain commonwealth aquatic,
Grown tired of order democratic,
By clamouring in the ears of Jove, effected
Its being to a monarch's power subjected.
Jove flung it down, at first, a king pacific.
Who nathless fell with such a splash terrific,
The marshy folks, a foolish race and timid,
Made breathless haste to get from him hid.
They dived into the mud beneath the water,
Or found among the reeds and rushes quarter.
And long it was they dared not see
The dreadful face of majesty,
Supposing that some monstrous frog
Had been sent down to rule the bog.
The king was really a log,
Whose gravity inspired with awe
The first that, from his hiding-place
Forth venturing, astonish'd, saw
The royal blockhead's face.
With trembling a...

Jean de La Fontaine

Ye Frog's Wooing

1.

It was the frog lived in the well,
Heigh-ho! says Rowley;
And the merry mouse under the mill,
With a Rowley, Powley, Gammon, and Spinach,
Heigh-ho! says Anthony Rowley.

2.

The frog he would a-wooing ride, Heigh-ho, &c.
Sword and buckler at his side, With a, &c.

3.

When upon his high horse set, Heigh-ho, &c.
His boots they shone as black as jet, With a, &c.

4.

When he came to the merry mill-pin, Heigh-ho, &c.
"Lady Mouse, are you within?" With a, &c.

5.

Then came out the dusty mouse, Heigh-ho, &c.
"I am the lady of this house," With a, &c.

6.

"Hast thou any mind of me?" Heigh-ho, &c.
"I have e'en great mind of thee," With a, &c.
...

Walter Crane

The Stork's Vocation.

The stork who worms and frogs devours

That in our ponds reside,
Why should he dwell on high church-towers,

With which he's not allied?

Incessantly he chatters there,

And gives our ears no rest;
But neither old nor young can dare

To drive him from his nest.

I humbly ask it, how can he

Give of his title proof,
Save by his happy tendency

To soil the church's roof?

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Fox And The Stork.

^[1]

Old Mister Fox was at expense, one day,
To dine old Mistress Stork.
The fare was light, was nothing, sooth to say,
Requiring knife and fork.
That sly old gentleman, the dinner-giver,
Was, you must understand, a frugal liver.
This once, at least, the total matter
Was thinnish soup served on a platter,
For madam's slender beak a fruitless puzzle,
Till all had pass'd the fox's lapping muzzle.
But, little relishing his laughter,
Old gossip Stork, some few days after,
Return'd his Foxship's invitation.
Without a moment's hesitation,
He said he'd go, for he must own he
Ne'er stood with friends for ceremony.
And so, precisely at the hour,
He hied him to the lady's bower;
Where, praising her politeness,
He finds her dinner righ...

Jean de La Fontaine

The Frog

Who am I but the Frog - the Frog!
    My realm is the dark bayou,
And my throne is the muddy and moss-grown log
    That the poison-vine clings to -
And the blacksnakes slide in the slimy tide
    Where the ghost of the moon looks blue.

What am I but a King - a King! -
    For the royal robes I wear -
A scepter, too, and a signet-ring,
    As vassals and serfs declare:
And a voice, god wot, that is equaled not
    In the wide world anywhere!

I can talk to the Night - the Night! -
    Under her big black wing
She tells me the tale of the world outright,
    And the secret of everything;
For she knows you all, from the time you crawl,
    To the doom that death will bring.

The Storm swoops down, and he blows - and blows, -
    Wh...

James Whitcomb Riley

The Wolf And The Stork.

^[1]

The wolves are prone to play the glutton.
One, at a certain feast, 'tis said,
So stuff'd himself with lamb and mutton,
He seem'd but little short of dead.
Deep in his throat a bone stuck fast.
Well for this wolf, who could not speak,
That soon a stork quite near him pass'd.
By signs invited, with her beak
The bone she drew
With slight ado,
And for this skilful surgery
Demanded, modestly, her fee.
'Your fee!' replied the wolf,
In accents rather gruff;
'And is it not enough
Your neck is safe from such a gulf?
Go, for a wretch ingrate,
Nor tempt again your fate!'

Jean de La Fontaine