The Christmas Tree in the Nursery

The Christmas Tree in the Nursery

by Richard Watson Gilder

With wild surprise

Four great eyes

In two small heads,

From neighboring beds

Looked out, and winked

And glittered and blinked

At a very queer sight

In the dim starlight.

As plain as can be

A fairy tree

Flashes and glimmers

And shakes and shimmers.

Red, green, and blue

Meet their view;

Silver and gold

Their sharp eyes behold:

Small moon, big stars;

And jams in jars,

And cakes, and honey,

And thimbles, and money,

Pink dogs, blue cats,

Little squeaking rats,

And candles, and dolls,

And crackers, and polls,

A real bird that sings,

And tokens and favors,

And all sorts of things

For the little shavers.

Four black eyes

Grow big with surprise,

And then grow bigger

When a tiny figure,

Jaunty and airy

(Is it a fairy?),

From the treetop cries,

“Open wide! Black Eyes!

Come, children, wake now!

Your joys you may take now!”

Quick as you can think

Twenty small toes

In four pretty rows,

All kick in the air,

And before you can wink

The tree stands bare!