Popcorn, Glass Balls, and Cranberries (As it were)

I. The Lion          The Lion is a kingly beast.          He likes a Hindu for a feast.          And if no Hindu he can get,          The lion-family is upset.          He cuffs his wife and bites her ears          Till she is nearly moved to tears.          Then some explorer finds the den          And all is family peace again.              II.    An Explanation of the Grasshopper          The Grasshopper, the grasshopper,          I will explain to you: -          He is the Brownies' racehorse,          The fairies' Kangaroo.              III.    The Dangerous Little Boy Fairies          In fairyland the little boys          Would rather fight than eat their meals.          They like to chase a gauze-winged fly          And catch and beat him till he squeals.          Sometimes they come to sleeping men          Armed with the deadly red-rose thorn,          And those that feel its fearful wound          Repent the day that they were born.              IV.    The Mouse that gnawed the Oak-tree Down          The mouse that gnawed the oak-tree down          Began his task in early life.          He kept so busy with his teeth          He had no time to take a wife.          He gnawed and gnawed through sun and rain          When the ambitious fit was on,          Then rested in the sawdust till          A month of idleness had gone.          He did not move about to hunt          The coteries of mousie-men.          He was a snail-paced, stupid thing          Until he cared to gnaw again.          The mouse that gnawed the oak-tree down,          When that tough foe was at his feet -          Found in the stump no angel-cake          Nor buttered bread, nor cheese, nor meat -          The forest-roof let in the sky.          "This light is worth the work," said he.          "I'll make this ancient swamp more light,"          And started on another tree.              V.    Parvenu          Where does Cinderella sleep?          By far-off day-dream river.          A secret place her burning Prince          Decks, while his heart-strings quiver.          Homesick for our cinder world,          Her low-born shoulders shiver;          She longs for sleep in cinders curled -          We, for the day-dream river.              VI.    The Spider and the Ghost of the Fly          Once I loved a spider          When I was born a fly,          A velvet-footed spider          With a gown of rainbow-dye.          She ate my wings and gloated.          She bound me with a hair.          She drove me to her parlor          Above her winding stair.          To educate young spiders          She took me all apart.          My ghost came back to haunt her.          I saw her eat my heart.              VII.    Crickets on a Strike          The foolish queen of fairyland          From her milk-white throne in a lily-bell,          Gave command to her cricket-band          To play for her when the dew-drops fell.          But the cold dew spoiled their instruments          And they play for the foolish queen no more.          Instead those sturdy malcontents          Play sharps and flats in my kitchen floor.