DEATH AND BURIAL
OF
COCK ROBIN.
PRICE THREE-PENCE.
T CHILDREN'S BOOK |[
COLLECTION
$ LIBRARY OF THE jfr
^ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 5.
LOS ANGELES
Ul
And all the Birds in the air
Fell to sighing and sobbing,
When they heard the bell toll
For poor Cock Robin.
DEATH AND BURIAL
OF
COCK ROBIN:
TO WHICH IS ADDED,
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THAT BIRD, &c.
DERBY:
Printed by and for
THOMAS RICHARDSON, FRIAR-GATE.
THE
DEATH AND BURIAL
OF
COCK ROBIN.
Little Robin Redbreast
Sat upon a tree;
He noddled with his head,
And warbl'd merrily.
COCK ROBIN.
Here lies Cock Robin,
Dead and cold,
His end this book
Will soon unfold.
COCK ROBIN.
Who kill'd Cock Robin?
I, said the Sparrow,
With my bow and arrow,
And I kill'd Cock Robin.
COCK ROBIN.
Who sa\v him die?
I, said the Fly,
With my little eye,
And I saw him die.
COCK ROBIN.
Who caught his blood?
I, said the Fish,
With my little dish,
And I caught his blood.
JO COCK ROBIN.
Who'll make his shroud?
I, said the Beetle,
With my little needle,
And I'll make his shroud.
COCK ROBIN;
Who'll dig his grave?
I, said the Owl,
With my spade and shovel,
And I'll dig his grave*
12 COCK ROBIN.
Who'll be the parson?
I, said the Rook,
With my little book,
And I'll be the parson.
COCK ROBIN.
13
Who'll be the clerk?
I, said the Lark,
If 'tis not in the dark,
And I'll be the clerk.
14 COCK ROBIN.
Who'll carry him to the grave?
I, said the Kite,
If 'tis not in the night,
And I'll carry him to the grave.
COCK ROBIN. 15
Who'll carry the link?
1, said the Linnet,
Will fetch it in a minute,
And I'll carry the link.
16 COCK ROBIN.
Who'll be the chief mourner ?
I, said the Dove,
For I mourn for my love,
And I'll be chief mourner.
COCK ROBIN.
Who'll bear the pall?
We, said the Wren,
Both the cock and the hen,
And we'll bear the pall-
COCK ROBIN.
Who'll go before?
I, says Chanticleer,
For I don't fear,
I'll go before.
COCK ROBIN.
19
Who'll sing a psalm?
I, says the Thrush,
As she sat in a bush,
And I'll sing a psalm.
20
COCK ROBIN.
Who'll throw in the dirt?
T, says the Fox,
Tho' I steal Hens and Cocks,
I'll throw in the dirt.
COCK ROBIN.
21
Who'll toll the bell?
I, says the Bull,
Because I can pull,
And I'll toll the bell.
22
THE ROBIN'S LAMENTATION FOR
THE LOSS OF HER MATE.
THOU cruel sparrow,
Thy pointed dart
Has robbed me
Of half my heart.
Ah! he is no more
Who used with me to fly
He is slain he is gone-^
And I follow I die.
Having warbled out these senti-
ments in the most melancholy
notes imaginable, she dropped
from the spray and expired !
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE
ROBIN REDBREAST.
THE bill of the Robin is slender
and delicate; its eyes are large,
dark, and expressive, and its as-
pect mild ; its head and all the
upper parts of its body are brown,
tinged with a greenish olive;
24 NATURAL HISTORY OF
the neck and breast are of a fine
deep reddish orange; a spot of
the same colour marks its fore-
head; its belly is whitish, and
the legs and feet of a dusky
black. It is near six inches in
length from the lip of the bill to
the end of the tail, the former
being about half an inch, and
the latter two inches and a half.
This bird, in our climate, has
the sweetest song of all others:
the notes of other birds are, indeed,
THE ROBIN REDBREAST. 25
louder, and their inflections more
capricious; but the Redbreast's
voice is soft, tender, and \veL
supported; and the more to be
valued as AVC enjoy it the greatest
part of the winter.
During the spring the Robin
haunts the wood, the grove, and
the garden, and retires to the
thickest and shadiest hedgerows
to breed in, where its nest is
usually placed among the roots
of trees, in some concealed spot
26 NATURAL HISTORY OF
near the ground. In winter it
endeavours to support itself, by
chirping around the warm habi-
tations of mankind, and by com-
ing into those shelters where the
rigour of the season is artificially
expelled, and where insects are
found in the greatest numbers, at-
tracted by the same cause. The
female lays from five to seven eggs,
of a dull white colour, diversified
with reddish streaks. Insects and
worms are the principal food of
THE ROBIN REDBREAST. 27
the Redbreast. The latter it veuy
dexterously renders fit to be eaten,
by taking hold of the extremity
of one in its beak, and beating it
against the ground till the inside
comes away, and then repeating
the operation with the other end,
till the outer part is entirely
cleansed.
'28
ROBIN REDBREAST.
LITTLE Robin, pray come near;
Pretty bird, you need not fear;
I'll not hurt you I am sure,
33 ut some victuals will procure.
Stay then, pretty little bird,
You can sing I oft have heard.
Pray then, Robin, sing to me,
Whilst you sit upon that tree.
If you'll sing, I'll fetch you seed,
And from this saucer you may feed;
I some water too will bring,
Drawn from out the clearest spring.
Pray then, Robin, come to me,
And try how very kind I'll be :
Come then, Robin, come along
O, dear me! the Robin's gone!
29
ON THE SAME.
LITTLE bird, with bosom red,
Welcome to our humble shed;
Daily near our table steal,
While we pick our scanty meal;
Doubt not, little though there be,
But we'll cast a crumb to thee/
ON THE SAME.
WHEN winter chill'd the dreary plains,
And bound the earth in icy chains ;
When not a flow'r adorn'd the ground,
And leafless trees with snow were crown'cl ;
A Robin came, my house to share,
And to partake my little fare.
66 Lovely Robin, come," said I,
" And sip my bowl most willingly.
When summer conies to wake the flowers,
And dress with pinks the shady bowers,
Then, little Robin, you shall fly,
Along the meads at liberty."
30
THE LIBERATED REDBREAST,
Taken in the beyinnimj of January, 1827, and liberated
about the middle of April following .
MY heart is light my heart is light;
For now on joyous wirig
I hasten o'er the landscape bright,
And breathe the gale of spring.
From tree to tree I gaily roam,
And bend the budding spray ;
Forgetful of my prison-home,
And winter's tyvaut sway.
With joy I hail the op'ning morn,
And frolic in its rays;
Perch'd on some dew-bespangl'd thornj
I tune my native lays.
The daisy-flow'r, the primrose pale, ,
And violet purple hu'd,
Are pouring on the vernal gale
Their fragrant gratitude.
The blithsorne lark on sportive whig
Now takes his upward flight,
And makes the crystal ether ring
With carols of delight.
31
The linnet too, his feeble throat
With tuneful rapture strains ;
The blackbird sings his loudest note
And wakes the verdant plains.
And Nature all looks smilingly,
And trims her mantle gay,
And o'er her beauties wild and free
I sport the livelong day.
My heart is light my heart is light ;
For now on joyous wing
I hasten o'er the landscape bright
And breathe the gale of spring.
Printed by Thomas Richardson, Derby.
RICHARDSON S
JUVENILE LIBRARY.
Three-pence each.
CHILDREN IN THE WOOD
CINDERELLA.
COCK ROBIN.
GOODY TWO-SHOES.
JOHN GILPIN.
JACK THE GIANT-KILLER.
MOTHER HUBBARD AND HER DOG.
NATURAL HISTORY.
NURSERY RHYMES.
RICHARDSON'S JUVENILE CABINET.
SELECT PIECES FOR THE NURSERY.
TOM THUMB.
WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT.
