Monday, October 31, 2011

Wynken Blynken and Nod catch the baby stars



Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
by Eugene Field (1850-1895)
 
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
   Sailed off in a wooden shoe---
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
   Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
   The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
   That live in this beautiful sea;
   Nets of silver and gold have we!"
                     Said Wynken,
                     Blynken,
                     And Nod. 


The old moon laughed and sang a song,
   As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
   Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
   That lived in that beautiful sea---
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish---
   Never afeard are we";
   So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
                     Wynken,
                     Blynken,
                     And Nod. 


All night long their nets they threw
   To the stars in the twinkling foam---
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
   Bringing the fishermen home;
'T was all so pretty a sail it seemed
   As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 't was a dream they 'd dreamed
   Of sailing that beautiful sea---
   But I shall name you the fishermen three:
                     Wynken,
                     Blynken,
                     And Nod. 


Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
   And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
   Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
   Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
   As you rock in the misty sea,
   Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
                     Wynken,
                     Blynken,
                     And Nod.

12 comments:

  1. ooo great pic...how fantastical to ride the skies in search of stars....

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  2. Absolutely precious! This is one of my favorite nursery rhymes. The shoe! The little baby stars! The man in the moon! Oh wow, this is fantastic!

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  3. Tera! This is fabulous. I have not been by here for a while but when I saw on my reader your title, I came here expecting something wonderful and I am not disappointed. What a great concept.

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  4. Someone, maybe James Taylor? did a wonderful song with this poem, which I have always loved and sang to my children when they were little.
    Lovely illustration, too.

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  5. Why does this make me want to decorate a baby nursery? Oy. (Mind you, I want no more babies...just to decorate a nursery.)

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  6. Wonderfully awesome illustration, I want one of those baby stars!

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  7. I'm pretty sure I work with those three.

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  8. OMG, I was just going to type what the OTHER Leslie typed! *cue the Twilight Zone theme song*

    How perfect would this be for a nursery?!

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  9. I delighted in viewing the picture. But, reading the verses carried me way back into southeastern Missouri with mother reading those verses to me-----and more than once. Thanks

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  10. Ditto to what Anonymous said. Only I was in PA, not Missouri. :)

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  11. The first letter in the word unique is U!

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