The old Pig said to the little pigs,
'In the forest is truffles and mast,
Follow me then, all ye little pigs,
Follow me fast!'
The Charcoal-burner sat in the shade
With his chin on his thumb,
And saw the big Pig and the little pigs,
Chuffling come.
He watched 'neath a green and giant bough,
And the pigs in the ground
Made a wonderful grizzling and gruzzling
And a greedy sound.
And when, full-fed they were gone, and Night
Walked her starry ways,
He stared with his cheeks in his hands
At his sullen blaze.
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Text Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The pigs and the charcoal-burner", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 5. Beasts, no. 6, first published 1913 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ina Boyle (1889 - 1967), "The Pigs and the Charcoal-burner", 1956 [ voice and piano ], from Three Songs by Walter de la Mare, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Emeléus , "The pigs and the charcoal-burner", published 1960 [ girls' chorus and piano ], from The Huntsmen [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 96