Nursery Chairs

One of the chairs is South America,
One of the chairs is a ship at sea,
One is a cage for a great big lion,
And one is a chair for Me.

[Boy in paper hat sitting in chair]

The First Chair.

When I go up the Amazon,
I stop at night and fire a gun
To call my faithful band.
And Indians in twos and threes,
Come silently between the trees,
And wait for me to land.
And if I do not want to play
With any Indians to-day,
I simply wave my hand.
And then they turn and go away—
They always understand.

[Boy kneeling on chair scaring Nanny]

The Second Chair.

I’m a great big lion in my cage,
And I often frighten Nanny with a roar.
Then I hold her very tight, and
Tell her not to be so frightened—
And she doesn’t be so frightened any more.

[Boy hugging Nanny]

[Boy standing on chair, ships and ocean in background]

The Third Chair.

When I am in my ship, I see
The other ships go sailing by.
A sailor leans and calls to me
As his ship goes sailing by.
Across the sea he leans to me,
Above the winds I hear him cry:
“Is this the way to Round-the-World?”
He calls as he goes by.

The Fourth Chair.

Whenever I sit in a high chair
For breakfast or dinner or tea,
I try to pretend that it’s my chair,
And that I am a baby of three.

[Boy seated at table saying grace]

Shall I go off to South America?
Shall I put out in my ship to sea?
Or get in my cage and be lions and tigers?
Or—shall I be only Me?

[Woman offering boy a bunch of lavender]