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LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE

and

BILLY MILLERS CIRCUS-SHOW

By James Whitcomb Riley

Illustrated by Ethel Franklin Betts

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1892




LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE


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INSCRIBED{013}--WITH ALL FAITH AND AFFECTION--

To _all_ the little children:--The happy ones; and sad ones;

The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones;

The good ones, yes the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.

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LITTLE {015}ORPHANT ANNIE she knows riddles, rhymes and things!

Knows 'bout the Witches 'at rides brooms, an' Imps 'at flies with w'n

The same as bats er lightnin'-bugs!--An' knows 'bout Ring-mo-rees

'At thist can take an' turn theirselves in anything they please!

"An' childerns all, both great an' small," she says, an' rolls her eyes

When we're a-listnun', all so still, "you needen' be surprise'

Ef right this livin' minut'--'fore ye know they's one about--

'At the GOBBLE-UNS 'll git ye--

     Ef you Don't

          Watch out!"



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Little {017}Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,

An wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,

An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,

An make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;

An all us other childern, when the supper things is done,

We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun

A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,

An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you

     Ef you Don't

          Watch Out!



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Onc't {018}they was a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--

So when he went to bed at night, away up stairs,

His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,

An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't there at all!

An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,

An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'wheres, I guess;

But all they ever found was thist his pants and roundabout:--

An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you

     Ef you Don't

          Watch Out!



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An' {021}one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,

An' make fun of ever'one, an' all her blood an' kin;

An' onc't, when they was "company," an' ole folks was there,

She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!

An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,

They was two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,

An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about

An' the Gobble-uns 'il git you

          Ef you Don't

     Watch Out



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An' {022}little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,

An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes _woo-oo!_

An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,

An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--

You better mind yer parents, an' yer teachers fond an' dear,

An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,

An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,

Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you

     Ef you Don't

          Watch Out!

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BILLY MILLERS CIRCUS-SHOW


At Billy {023}Miller's Circus-Show--

     In their old stable where it's at--

The boys pays twenty pins to go,

     An' gits their money's-worth at that!--

'Cause Billy he can climb an' chalk

His stockin'-feet an' purt'-nigh walk

A tight-rope--yes, an' ef he fall

He'll ketch, an' "skin a cat"--'at's all!



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He {024}ain't afeard to swing an' hang

     1st by his legs!--an' mayby stop

An' yell "look out!" an' nen--k-spang

     He'll let loose, upside-down, an' drop

Wite on his hands! An' nen he'll do

"Contortion-acts"--ist limber through

As "Injarubber Mens" 'at goes

With shore-fer-certain circus-shows!



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     He's {027}got a circus-ring--an' they's

A dressin'-room,--so's he can go

     An' dress an' paint up when he plays

He's somepin' else;--'cause sometimes he's

"Ringmaster"--bossin' like he please--

An' sometimes "Ephalunt"--er "Bare-

Back Rider," prancin out o' there!



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An' {028}sometimes--an' the best of all!--

     He's "The Old Clown," an' got on clo'es

All stripud,--an' white hat, all tall

     An' peakud--like in shore-'nuff shows,--

An' got three-cornered red-marks, too,

On his white cheeks--ist like they do!--

An' you'd ist die, the way he sings

An' dances an' says funny things!