Till by and by there came a flower
The color of the sun,
Which withered up, and then I saw
The pumpkin was begun;
But oh! I knew I'd have to wait
So long to have my fun,
Before that small green ball could be
A great big yellow one.

At last, one day, when it had grown
To be the proper size,
Said Aunt Matilda: "John, see here,
I'll give you a surprise!"
She took me to a pantry shelf,
And there before my eyes,
Was set a dreadful row of half
A dozen pumpkin pies.

Said Aunt Matilda; "John, I found
A pumpkin, high and dry,
Upon a pile of rubbish, down
Behind that worn-out sty!"
O, dear, I didn't cry, because
I'm quite too big to cry,
But, honestly, I couldn't eat
A mouthful of the pie.