Three Songs of Fantasy

Once in the morning when the breeze
  Set all the leaves astir,
And music floated from the trees
  As from a dulcimer,
I saw the roses, one by one,
  Bow gracefully, as though
A fairy dance were just begun
  Upon the ground below.

The lilies white beside the walk,
  Like ladies fair and tall
Together joined in whispered talk
  About a fairies' ball.
The slender grasses waved along
  The garden path, and I
Could almost hear the fairies' song
  When blew the light wind by.

I waited there till noon to hear
  The elfin music sweet;
I saw the servant bees appear
  In golden jackets neat;
And though I wished just once to see
  The happy little elves,
They were so much afraid of me
  They never showed themselves!

Once through the vale of slumber
  That peaceful twilight brings,
I saw the dreams of all the world
  Flit by on eager wings;
And some of them were golden,
  And some were black as night,
But the dreams of little children
  Were as the lilies white.

And when the birds' glad voices
  Arose at dawn of day,
The dreams of all the world returned
  Upon their homeward way;
I know not whence they vanished,
  Those ghosts of joy and pain,
But the dreams of little children
  Went back to heav'n again.

There is a funny fellow 
  Who goes by every day:
When sad, his voice is mellow, 
  But shrill when he is gay.

 ... 

I know he pulls the thistles
  That grow along the lane,
And pricks himself, and whistles
  To drive away the pain.

And when the snow is falling
  So fast I may not see,
I often hear him calling
  Across the fields to me.

 ... 

He sings to me, and makes me
  A happy child at night ;
He sings again, and wakes me,
  At early morning bright.