WHAT CAME OF A DIRTY FACE.

[Illustration: What Came of a Dirty Face.]


A little boy I used to know,
Who went to a district school.
He learned to read, and he learned to write,
And to whisper against the rule.
What fun it was with his marbles to play
When the teacher was busy, and looking away!

This little boy, one day, was sent
A pail of water to bring,
And like Jack and Jill away he ran,
And back he came with a swing.
But, just as he entered the schoolroom door,
Both he and the water went down on the floor.

Oh, then, what a noise there was in the room!
The school-ma'am fetched a mop;
But, the more she tried the water to check,
The more it wouldn't stop.
There never was such water to run:
It seemed, with the children, to like the fun.