Garden Games

The tall clock is striking twelve;And the little girls stop in the hall to watch it,And the big ships rocking in a half-circleAbove the dial.Twelve o'clock!Down the side stepsGo the little girls,Under their big round straw hats.Minna's has a pink ribbon,Stella's a blue,That is the way they know which is which.Twelve o'clock!An hour yet before dinner.Mother is busy in the still-room,And Hannah is making gingerbread.

Slowly, with lagging steps,They follow the garden-path,Crushing a leaf of box for its acrid smell,Discussing what they shall do,And doing nothing.

"Stella, see that grasshopperClimbing up the bank!What a jump!Almost as long as my arm."Run, children, run.For the grasshopper is leaping away,In half-circle curves,Shuttlecock curves,Over the grasses.Hand in hand, the little girls call to him:"Grandfather, grandfather gray,Give me molasses, or I'll throw you away."

The grasshopper leaps into the sunlight,Golden-green,And is gone.

"Let's catch a bee."Round whirl the little girls,And up the garden.Two heads are thrust among the Canterbury bells,Listening,And fingers clasp and unclasp behind backsIn a strain of silence.

White bells,Blue bells,Hollow and reflexed.Deep tunnels of blue and white dimness,Cool wine-tunnels for bees.There is a floundering and buzzing over Minna's head.

"Bend it down, Stella. Quick! Quick!"The wide mouth of a blossomIs pressed together in Minna's fingers.The stem flies up, jiggling its flower-bells,And Minna holds the dark blue cup in her hand,With the beeImprisoned in it.Whirr! Buzz! Bump!Bump! Whiz! Bang!BANG!!The blue flower tears across like paper,And a gold-black bee darts away in the sunshine.

"If we could fly, we could catch him."The sunshine is hot on Stella's upturned face,As she stares after the bee."We'll follow him in a dove chariot.Come on, Stella."Run, children,Along the red gravel paths,For a bee is hard to catch,Even with a chariot of doves.

Tall, still, and cowled,Stand the monk's-hoods;Taller than the heads of the little girls.A blossom for Minna.A blossom for Stella.Off comes the cowl,And there is a purple-painted chariot;Off comes the forward petal,And there are two little green doves,With green traces tying them to the chariot."Now we will get in, and fly right up to the clouds.Fly, Doves, up in the sky,With Minna and me,After the bee."

Up one path,Down another,Run the little girls,Holding their dove chariots in front of them;But the bee is hidden in the trumpet of a honeysuckle,With his wings folded along his back.

The dove chariots are thrown away,And the little girls wander slowly through the garden,Sucking the salvia tips,And squeezing the snapdragonsTo make them gape."I'm so hot,Let's pick a pansyAnd see the little man in his bath,And play we're he."A royal bath-tub,Hung with purple stuffs and yellow.The great purple-yellow wingsRise up behind the little red and green man;The purple-yellow wings fan him,He dabbles his feet in cool green.Off with the green sheath,And there are two spindly legs."Heigho!" sighs Minna."Heigho!" sighs Stella.There is not a flutter of wind,And the sun is directly overhead.

Along the edge of the gardenWalk the little girls.Their hats, round and yellow like cheeses,Are dangling by the ribbons.The grass is a tumult of buttercups and daisies;Buttercups and daisies streaming awayUp the hill.The garden is purple, and pink, and orange, and scarlet;The garden is hot with colours.But the meadow is only yellow, and white, and green,Cool, and long, and quiet.The little girls pick buttercupsAnd hold them under each other's chins."You're as gold as Grandfather's snuff-box.You're going to be very rich, Minna.""Oh-o-o! Then I'll ask my husband to give me a pair of garnet earringsJust like Aunt Nancy's.I wonder if he will.I know. We'll tell fortunes.That's what we'll do."Plump down in the meadow grass,Stella and Minna,With their round yellow hats,Like cheeses,Beside them.Drop,Drop,Daisy petals."One I love,Two I love,Three I love I say..."The ground is peppered with daisy petals,And the little girls nibble the golden centres,And play it is cake.

A bell rings.Dinner-time;And after dinner there are lessons.