Dyke Side
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he frog croaks loud, and maidens dare not passBut fear the noisome toad and shun the grass;And on the sunny banks they dare not goWhere hissing snakes run to the flood below.The nuthatch noises loud in wood and wild,Like women turning skreeking to a child.The schoolboy hears and brushes through the treesAnd runs about till drabbled to the knees.The old hawk winnows round the old crow's nest;The schoolboy hears and wonder fills his breast.He throws his basket down to climb the treeAnd wonders what the red blotched eggs can be:The green woodpecker bounces from the viewAnd hollos as he buzzes bye "kew kew."
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