"Did Shakespeare write those dramas old,
Or did Lord Bacon's pen?
When Joan rambled in Lorraine,
Were you out crawling then?

"You must have known the virgin queen,
And known Sir Walter, too;
You've heard that story of the ring,
What really did she do?

[Illustration: Alice and Mr. Turtle.]

"Did Pocahontas save the life
Of Captain Smith that day?
Did Cromwell take the reins of State,
As all the school-books say?

"Did Washington cut down the tree
That time in early May,
And say 'I cannot tell a lie?'
Now answer me I pray."

The Turtle only looked around,
And winked a lazy wink;
He seemed to say, "Don't bother me;
It hurts my brain to think."

"Why is it that all of you who live near here, like Mr. Crow's poetry so
well?" your Aunt Amy asked, when Mrs. Goose had come to an end of the