The Happy Little Cripple
I'm thist a little cripple boy, an' never goin' to growAn' get a great big man at all!--'cause Aunty told me so.When I was thist a baby onc't, I falled out of the bedAn' got "The Curv'ture of the Spine"--'at's what the Doctor said.I never had no Mother nen--fer my Pa runned awayAn' dassn't come back here no more--'cause he was drunk one dayAn' stobbed a man in thish-ere town, an' couldn't pay his fine!An' nen my Ma she died--an' I got "Curv'ture of the Spine!"
I'm nine years old! An' you can't guess how much I weigh, I bet!--Last birthday I weighed thirty-three!--An' I weigh thirty yet!I'm awful little fer my size--I'm purt' nigh littler 'nanSome babies is!--an' neighbers all calls me "The Little Man!"An' Doc one time he laughed an' said: "I 'spect, first thing you know,You'll have a little spike-tail coat an' travel with a show!"An' nen I laughed--till I looked round an' Aunty was a-cryin'--Sometimes she acts like that, 'cause I got "Curv'ture of the Spine."
I set--while Aunty's washin'--on my little long-leg stool,An' watch the little boys an' girls a-skippin' by to school;An' I peck on the winder, an' holler out an' say:"Who wants to fight The Little Man 'at dares you all today?"An', nen the boys climbs on the fence, an' little girls peeks through,An' they all says: "Cause you're so big, you think we're 'feared o' you!"An' nen they yell, an' shake their fist at me, like I shake mine--They're thist in fun, you know, 'cause I got "Curv'ture of the Spine!"
At evening, when the ironin's done, an' Aunty's fixed the fire,An' filled an' lit the lamp, an' trimmed the wick an' turned it higher,An' fetched the wood all in fer night, an' locked the kitchen door,An' stuffed the ole crack where the wind blows in up through the floor--She sets the kittle on the coals, an' biles an' makes the tea,An' fries the liver an' the mush, an' cooks a egg fer me;An' sometimes--when I cough so hard--her elderberry wineDon't go so bad fer little boys with "Curv'ture of the Spine!"
But Aunty's all so childish-like on my account, you see,I'm 'most afeard she'll be took down--an' 'at's what bothers me!--'Cause ef my good old Aunty ever would git sick an' die,I don't know what she'd do in heaven--till I come, by an' by:--Fer she's so ust to all my ways, an' ever'thing, you know,An' no one there like me, to nuss an' worry over so!--'Cause all the little childerns there's so straight an' strong an' fine,They's nary angel 'bout the place with "Curv'ture of the Spine!"
Words in this poem
- cripple n.
- One who creeps, halts, or limps; one who has lost, or never had, the use of a limb or limbs; a lame person; hence, one who is partially disabled. [OE. cripel, crepel, crupel, AS. crypel (akin to D. kreuple, G. kr, Dan. kr, Icel. kryppill), prop., one that can not walk, but must creep, fr. AS. cre to creep.]
- aunty n.
- A familiar name for an aunt. In the southern United States a familiar term applied to aged negro women.
- winder v. i.
- To wither; to fail. Holland.
- kittle v. i.
- To bring forth young, as a cat; to kitten; to litter. [Prov. [Cf. Kit a kitten.]
- mush n.
- Meal (esp. Indian meal) boiled in water; hasty pudding; supawn. [Cf. Gael. mus, muss, pap, porridge, any thick preparation of fruit, OHG. muos; akin to AS. & OS. mos food, and prob, to E. meat. See Meat.]
- elderberry n.
- The berrylike drupe of the elder. That of the Old World elder (Sambucus nigra) and that of the American sweet elder (S. Canadensis) are sweetish acid, and are eaten as a berry or made into wine.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Happy Little Cripple 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, The Happy Little Cripple, in Riley Child-Rhymes (1890), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9777, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/riley-child-rhymes/the-happy-little-cripple.html, id L25037.
Form and metre
The Happy Little Cripple is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDD, complete in 4 of its 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic heptameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%).
See other poems in iambic heptameter.
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 AABBCCDD growA · soA · bedB · saidB · awayC · dayC · fineD · spineD
- 2 AABBCC-- betA · yetA · nanB · manB · knowC · showC · cryin · spine
- 3 AABBCCDD stoolA · schoolA · sayB · todayB · throughC · youC · mineD · spineD
- 4 AABBCCDD fireA · higherA · doorB · floorB · teaC · meC · wineD · spineD
- 5 AABBCCDD seeA · meA · dieB · byB · knowC · soC · fineD · spineD
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 heptameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I'm thist a little cripple boy, an' never goin' to grow | 14 | ···/˘/˘··//˘·· |
| An' get a great big man at all!--'cause Aunty told me so. | 14 | ·············· |
| When I was thist a baby onc't, I falled out of the bed | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| An' got "The Curv'ture of the Spine"--'at's what the Doctor said. | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| I never had no Mother nen--fer my Pa runned away | 14 | ·/˘··/˘·····˘/ |
| An' dassn't come back here no more--'cause he was drunk one day | 13 | ············· |
| An' stobbed a man in thish-ere town, an' couldn't pay his fine! | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| An' nen my Ma she died--an' I got "Curv'ture of the Spine!" | 14 | ·············· |
| I'm nine years old! An' you can't guess how much I weigh, I bet!-- | 14 | ·············· |
| Last birthday I weighed thirty-three!--An' I weigh thirty yet! | 14 | ·/···/˘····/˘· |
| I'm awful little fer my size--I'm purt' nigh littler 'nan | 14 | ·/˘/˘······/˘· |
| Some babies is!--an' neighbers all calls me "The Little Man!" | 14 | ·/˘········/˘· |
| An' Doc one time he laughed an' said: "I 'spect, first thing you know, | 14 | ·············· |
| You'll have a little spike-tail coat an' travel with a show!" | 14 | ···/˘····/˘··· |
| An' nen I laughed--till I looked round an' Aunty was a-cryin'-- | 14 | ·············· |
| Sometimes she acts like that, 'cause I got "Curv'ture of the Spine." | 14 | ˘/············ |
| I set--while Aunty's washin'--on my little long-leg stool, | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| An' watch the little boys an' girls a-skippin' by to school; | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| An' I peck on the winder, an' holler out an' say: | 13 | ·····/˘·/˘··· |
| "Who wants to fight The Little Man 'at dares you all today?" | 14 | ·····/˘·····˘/ |
| An', nen the boys climbs on the fence, an' little girls peeks through, | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| An' they all says: "Cause you're so big, you think we're 'feared o' you!" | 14 | ·············· |
| An' nen they yell, an' shake their fist at me, like I shake mine-- | 14 | ·············· |
| They're thist in fun, you know, 'cause I got "Curv'ture of the Spine!" | 14 | ·············· |
| At evening, when the ironin's done, an' Aunty's fixed the fire, | 15 | ·/˘···········/ |
| An' filled an' lit the lamp, an' trimmed the wick an' turned it higher, | 15 | ·············/˘ |
| An' fetched the wood all in fer night, an' locked the kitchen door, | 14 | ···········/˘· |
| An' stuffed the ole crack where the wind blows in up through the floor-- | 14 | ·············· |
| She sets the kittle on the coals, an' biles an' makes the tea, | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| An' fries the liver an' the mush, an' cooks a egg fer me; | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| An' sometimes--when I cough so hard--her elderberry wine | 13 | ·/·······/˘˘· |
| Don't go so bad fer little boys with "Curv'ture of the Spine!" | 14 | ·····/˘······· |
| But Aunty's all so childish-like on my account, you see, | 14 | ·····/˘···˘/·· |
| I'm 'most afeard she'll be took down--an' 'at's what bothers me!-- | 14 | ··˘/·······/˘· |
| 'Cause ef my good old Aunty ever would git sick an' die, | 14 | ·······/˘····· |
| I don't know what she'd do in heaven--till I come, by an' by:-- | 14 | ·······/······ |
| Fer she's so ust to all my ways, an' ever'thing, you know, | 14 | ·············· |
| An' no one there like me, to nuss an' worry over so!-- | 14 | ·········/˘··· |
| 'Cause all the little childerns there's so straight an' strong an' fine, | 14 | ···/˘········· |
| They's nary angel 'bout the place with "Curv'ture of the Spine!" | 14 | ·/˘/˘········· |
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