Slovenly Betsy

Betsy would never wash herself     When from her bed she rose,     But just as quickly as she could     She hurried on her clothes.     To keep her clothes all nice and clean     Miss Betsy took no pains;     In holes her stockings always were,     Her dresses filled with stains.     Sometimes she went day after day     And never combed her hair,     While little feathers from her bed     Stuck on it here and there.     The schoolboys, when they Betsy saw,     Would point her out, and cry,     "Oh! Betsy, what a sight you are!     Oh! Slovenly Betsy, fie!"     One rainy day her parents went     Some pleasant friends to meet.     They took Betsy along with them,     All dressed so clean and neat.     Nice little boys and girls were there,     With whom our Betsy played,     Until of playing she grew tired,     And to the garden strayed.     Out in the rain she danced awhile,     But 'twas not long before     Flat down she tumbled in the mud,     And her best clothes she tore.     Oh! what a sight she was, indeed,     When in the room she came;     The guests all loudly laughed at her,     And she almost died with shame.     She turned, and to her home she ran,     And then, as here you see,     She washed her clothes, and since has been     As neat as she could be.