Little Orphant Annie
Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;An' all us other childern, when the supper things is done,We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest funA-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits youEf youDon'tWatchOut!
Onc't they was a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--So when he went to bed at night, away up stairs,His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't there at all!An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'wheres, I guess;But all they ever found was thist his pants an' roundabout:--An' the Gobble-uns'll git youEf youDon'tWatchOut!
An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,An' make fun of ever'one, an' all her blood an' kin;An' onc't, when they was "company," an' ole folks was there,She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,They was two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!An' the Gobble-uns'll git youEf youDon'tWatchOut!
An' little Orphant Annie says when the blaze is blue,An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--You better mind yer parents, an' yer teachers fond an' dear,An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,Er the Gobble-uns'll git youEf youDon'tWatchOut!
Words in this poem
- shoo interj.
- Begone; away; -- an expression used in frightening away animals, especially fowls. [Cf. G. scheuchen to scare, drive away.]
- bake v. t.
- To prepare, as food, by cooking in a dry heat, either in an oven or under coals, or on heated stone or metal; as, to bake bread, meat, apples.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- mammy n.
- A child's name for mamma, mother.
- daddy n.
- Diminutive of Dad.
- bawl v. i.
- To cry out with a loud, full sound; to cry with vehemence, as in calling or exultation; to shout; to vociferate. [Icel. baula to low, bellow, as a cow; akin to Sw. böla; cf. AS bellan, G. bellen to bark, E. bellow, bull.]
- grin n.
- A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
- folks n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Little Orphant Annie is in the public domain. This text is taken from Riley Child-Rhymes, Project Gutenberg ebook #9777; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Whitcomb Riley, Little Orphant Annie, in Riley Child-Rhymes (1890), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9777, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/riley-child-rhymes/little-orphant-annie.html, id L25033.
Form and metre
Little Orphant Annie is 48 lines in 4 stanzas of 12 lines each.
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.
- 1 AABBCCDEE--D stayA · awayA · sweepB · keepB · doneC · funC · aboutD · youE · youE · don't · watch · outD
- 2 AABBCCDEE--D prayersA · stairsA · bawlB · allB · pressC · guessC · roundaboutD · youE · youE · don't · watch · outD
- 3 AABBCCDEE--D grinA · kinA · thereB · careB · hideC · sideC · aboutD · youE · youE · don't · watch · outD
- 4 A-BBCCDAA--D blueA · oo · grayB · awayB · dearC · tearC · aboutD · youA · youA · don't · watch · outD
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay, | 13 | /˘··/···/˘··· |
| An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away, | 14 | ·····/˘·····˘/ |
| An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep, | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep; | 15 | ···/˘·········· |
| An' all us other childern, when the supper things is done, | 14 | ···/˘····/˘··· |
| We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun | 15 | ·····/˘/˘···/˘· |
| A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about, | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| Ef you | 2 | ·· |
| Don't | 1 | · |
| Watch | 1 | · |
| Out! | 1 | · |
| Onc't they was a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,-- | 12 | ····/˘·/˘··· |
| So when he went to bed at night, away up stairs, | 12 | ········˘/·· |
| His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't there at all! | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press, | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'wheres, I guess; | 14 | ·············· |
| But all they ever found was thist his pants an' roundabout:-- | 14 | ···/˘······/˘· |
| An' the Gobble-uns'll git you | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Ef you | 2 | ·· |
| Don't | 1 | · |
| Watch | 1 | · |
| Out! | 1 | · |
| An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin, | 13 | ····/˘······· |
| An' make fun of ever'one, an' all her blood an' kin; | 13 | ············· |
| An' onc't, when they was "company," an' ole folks was there, | 13 | ·····/˘˘····· |
| She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care! | 12 | ·········/˘· |
| An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide, | 13 | ············· |
| They was two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side, | 13 | ········/˘··· |
| An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about! | 15 | ··············· |
| An' the Gobble-uns'll git you | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Ef you | 2 | ·· |
| Don't | 1 | · |
| Watch | 1 | · |
| Out! | 1 | · |
| An' little Orphant Annie says when the blaze is blue, | 13 | ·/˘··/˘······ |
| An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo! | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray, | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,-- | 12 | ··········˘/ |
| You better mind yer parents, an' yer teachers fond an' dear, | 14 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear, | 13 | ············· |
| An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about, | 14 | ·····/˘··/˘··· |
| Er the Gobble-uns'll git you | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Ef you | 2 | ·· |
| Don't | 1 | · |
| Watch | 1 | · |
| Out! | 1 | · |
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.