Best Famous C. E. Carryl Poems

Robinson Crusoe's Story

      The night was thick and hazy
      When the “Piccadilly Daisy”
Carried down the crew and captain in the sea;
      And I think the water drowned ’em;
      For they never, never found ’em
And I know they didn’t come ashore with me.
      Oh! ’twas very sad and lonely
      When I found myself the only
Population on this cultivated shore;
      But I’ve made a little tavern
      In a rocky little cavern,
And I sit and watch for people at the door.

      I spent no time in looking
      For a girl to do my cooking,
As I’m quite a clever hand at making stews;
      But I had that fellow Friday,
      Just to keep the tavern tidy,
And to put a Sunday polish on my shoes.

      I have a little garden
      That I’m cultivating lard in,
As the things I eat are rather tough and dry;
      For I live on toasted lizards,
      Prickly pears, and parrot gizzards,
And I’m really very fond of beetle-pie.

      The clothes I had were furry,
      And it made me fret and worry
When I found the moths were eating off the hair;
      And I had to scrape and sand ’em,
      And I boiled ’em and I tanned ’em,
Till I got the fine morocco suit I wear.
      I sometimes seek diversion
      In a family excursion
With the few domestic animals you see;
      And we take along a carrot
      As refreshment for the parrot,
And a little can of jungleberry tea.

      Then we gather as we travel,
      Bits of moss and dirty gravel,
And we chip off little specimens of stone;
      And we carry home as prizes
      Funny bugs, of handy sizes,
Just to give the day a scientific tone.

      If the roads are wet and muddy
      We remain at home and study,—
For the Goat is very clever at a sum,—
      And the Dog, instead of fighting,
      Studies ornamental writing,
While the Cat is taking lessons on the drum.

      We retire at eleven,
      And we rise again at seven;
And I wish to call attention, as I close,
      To the fact that all the scholars
      Are correct about their collars,
And particular in turning out their toes.