Child of the pure unclouded brow + 

And dreaming eyes of wonder! + 

Though time be fleet, and I and thou + 

Are half a life asunder, + 

Thy loving smile will surely hail + 

The love-gift of a fairy-tale. + 

I have not seen thy sunny face, + 

Nor heard thy silver laughter; + 

No thought of me shall find a place + 

In thy young life’s hereafter⁠— + 

Enough that now thou wilt not fail + 

To listen to my fairy-tale. + 

A tale begun in other days, + 

When summer suns were glowing⁠— + 

A simple chime, that served to time + 

The rhythm of our rowing⁠— + 

Whose echoes live in memory yet, + 

Though envious years would say “forget.” + 

Come, hearken then, ere voice of dread, + 

With bitter tidings laden, + 

Shall summon to unwelcome bed + 

A melancholy maiden! + 

We are but older children, dear, + 

Who fret to find our bedtime near. + 

Without, the frost, the blinding snow, + 

The storm-wind’s moody madness⁠— + 

Within, the firelight’s ruddy glow, + 

And childhood’s nest of gladness. + 

The magic words shall hold thee fast: + 

Thou shalt not heed the raving blast. + 

And though the shadow of a sigh + 

May tremble through the story, + 

For “happy summer days” gone by, + 

And vanish’d summer glory⁠— + 

It shall not touch with, breath of bale, + 

The pleasance of our fairy-tale. + 