The Flying Squirrel
“The Flying Squirrel” is an honest account of a live creature that wonhis way into scores of hearts by his mad pranks and affectionate ways.It is enough that John Burroughs has commended the poem.
Of all the woodland creatures,The quaintest little spriteIs the dainty flying squirrelIn vest of shining white,In coat of silver gray,And vest of shining white.
His furry Quaker jacketIs trimmed with stripe of black;A furry plume to match itIs curling o’er his back;New curved with every motion,His plume curls o’er his back.
No little new-born babyHas pinker feet than he;Each tiny toe is cushionedWith velvet cushions three;Three wee, pink, velvet cushionsAlmost too small to see.
Who said, “The foot of babyMight tempt an angel’s kiss”?I know a score of school-boysWho put their lips to this,--This wee foot of the squirrel,And left a loving kiss.
The tiny thief has hiddenMy candy and my plum;Ah, there he comes unbiddenTo gently nip my thumb,--Down in his home (my pocket)He gently nips my thumb.
How strange the food he covets,The restless, restless wight;--Fred’s old stuffed armadilloHe found a tempting bite,Fred’s old stuffed armadillo,With ears a perfect fright.
The Lady Ruth’s great bureau,Each foot a dragon’s paw!The midget ate the nails fromHis famous antique claw.Oh, what a cruel beastieTo hurt a dragon’s claw!
To autographic copiesUpon my choicest shelf,--To every dainty volumeThe rogue has helped himself.My books! Oh dear! No matter!The rogue has helped himself.
And yet, my little squirrel,Your taste is not so bad;You’ve swallowed Caird completelyAnd psychologic Ladd.Rosmini you’ve digested,And Kant in rags you’ve clad.
Gnaw on, my elfish rodent!Lay all the sages low!My pretty lace and ribbons,They’re yours for weal or woe!My pocket-book’s in tattersBecause you like it so.
Words in this poem
- sprite n.
- A spirit; a soul; a shade; also, an apparition. See Spright. [OE. sprit, F. esprit, fr. L. spiritus. See Spirit, and cf. Sprightly.]
- dainty n.
- Value; estimation; the gratification or pleasure taken in anything. [OE. deinie, dainte, deintie, deyntee, OF. deintié delicacy, orig., dignity, honor, fr. L. dignitas, fr. dignus worthy. See Deign, and cf. Dignity.]
- vest n.
- An article of clothing covering the person; an outer garment; a vestment; a dress; a vesture; a robe. [L. vestis a garment, vesture; akin to Goth. wasti, and E. wear: cf. F. veste. See Wear to carry on the person, and cf. Divest, Invest, Travesty.]
- furry a.
- Covered with fur; dressed in fur. [From Fur.]
- quaker n.
- One who quakes.
- unbidden a.
- Not bidden; not commanded.
- wight n.
- A whit; a bit; a jot. [OE. wight, wiht, a wight, a whit, AS. wiht, wuht, a creature, a thing; skin to D. wicht a child, OS. & OHG. wiht a creature, thing, G. wicht a creature, Icel. v]
- midget n.
- A minute bloodsucking fly. [Local, U. S.] [Dim. of midge.]
- caird n.
- A traveling tinker; also a tramp or sturdy beggar. [Ir. ceard a tinker.]
- psychologic a.
- Of or pertaining to psychology. See Note under Psychic. [Cf. F. psychologique.]
- ladd n.
- A boy; a youth; a stripling. [OE. ladde, of Celtic origin; cf. W. , Ir. lath. (. Cf. Lass.]
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- elfish a.
- Of or relating to the elves; elflike; implike; weird; scarcely human; mischievous, as though caused by elves.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Flying Squirrel is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems Every Child Should Know The What-Every-Child-Should-Know-Library, Project Gutenberg ebook #16436; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Mary E. Burt, The Flying Squirrel, in Poems Every Child Should Know (1904), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #16436, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/poems-every-child/the-flying-squirrel.html, id L25202.
Form and metre
The Flying Squirrel is 63 lines in 11 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 2 -A-A-A creatures · spriteA · squirrel · whiteA · gray · whiteA
- 3 ABAB-B jacketA · blackB · itA · backB · motion · backB
- 4 -A-A-A baby · heA · cushioned · threeA · cushions · seeA
- 5 -A-A-A baby · kissA · boys · thisA · squirrel · kissA
- 6 -A-A-A hidden · plumA · unbidden · thumbA · pocket · thumbA
- 7 -ABABA covets · wightA · armadilloB · biteA · armadilloB · frightA
- 8 -A-A-A bureau · pawA · from · clawA · beastie · clawA
- 9 -A-A-A copies · shelfA · volume · himselfA · matter · himselfA
- 10 -A-AAA squirrel · badA · completely · laddA · digestedA · cladA
- 11 -A-A-A rodent · lowA · ribbons · woeA · tatters · soA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| “The Flying Squirrel” is an honest account of a live creature that won | 18 | ·/˘/˘··/˘˘/···/˘·· |
| his way into scores of hearts by his mad pranks and affectionate ways. | 16 | ············˘/˘· |
| It is enough that John Burroughs has commended the poem. | 14 | ··˘/··/˘·˘/˘·/ |
| Of all the woodland creatures, | 7 | ···/·/˘ |
| The quaintest little sprite | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Is the dainty flying squirrel | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| In vest of shining white, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| In coat of silver gray, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And vest of shining white. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| His furry Quaker jacket | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| Is trimmed with stripe of black; | 6 | ······ |
| A furry plume to match it | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Is curling o’er his back; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| New curved with every motion, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| His plume curls o’er his back. | 6 | ······ |
| No little new-born baby | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Has pinker feet than he; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Each tiny toe is cushioned | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| With velvet cushions three; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Three wee, pink, velvet cushions | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Almost too small to see. | 6 | /····· |
| Who said, “The foot of baby | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Might tempt an angel’s kiss”? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| I know a score of school-boys | 7 | ······· |
| Who put their lips to this,-- | 6 | ······ |
| This wee foot of the squirrel, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| And left a loving kiss. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The tiny thief has hidden | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| My candy and my plum; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Ah, there he comes unbidden | 7 | ······· |
| To gently nip my thumb,-- | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Down in his home (my pocket) | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| He gently nips my thumb. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| How strange the food he covets, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The restless, restless wight;-- | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| Fred’s old stuffed armadillo | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| He found a tempting bite, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Fred’s old stuffed armadillo, | 7 | ····˘/˘ |
| With ears a perfect fright. | 6 | ···˘/· |
| The Lady Ruth’s great bureau, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Each foot a dragon’s paw! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The midget ate the nails from | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| His famous antique claw. | 6 | ·/˘˘/· |
| Oh, what a cruel beastie | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| To hurt a dragon’s claw! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To autographic copies | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Upon my choicest shelf,-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To every dainty volume | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| The rogue has helped himself. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| My books! Oh dear! No matter! | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The rogue has helped himself. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| And yet, my little squirrel, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Your taste is not so bad; | 6 | ······ |
| You’ve swallowed Caird completely | 7 | ·/˘·˘/˘ |
| And psychologic Ladd. | 6 | ······ |
| Rosmini you’ve digested, | 7 | ····/·˘ |
| And Kant in rags you’ve clad. | 6 | ······ |
| Gnaw on, my elfish rodent! | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Lay all the sages low! | 6 | ···/˘· |
| My pretty lace and ribbons, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| They’re yours for weal or woe! | 6 | ······ |
| My pocket-book’s in tatters | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Because you like it so. | 6 | ······ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.