Just Folks

The Lure That Failed

          I know a wonderful land, I said,
            Where the skies are always blue,
          Where on chocolate drops are the children fed,
            And cocoanut cookies, too;
          Where puppy dogs romp at the children's feet,
            And the liveliest kittens play,
          And little tin soldiers guard the street
            To frighten the bears away.

          This land is reached by a wonderful ship
            That sails on a golden tide;
          But never a grown-up makes the trip—
            It is only a children's ride.
          And never a cross-patch journeys there,
            And never a pouting face,
          For it is the Land of Smiling, where
            A frown is a big disgrace.

          Oh, you board the ship when the sun goes down,
            And over a gentle sea
          You slip away from the noisy town
            To the land of the chocolate tree.
          And there, till the sun comes over the hill,
            You frolic and romp and play,
          And of candy and cake you eat your fill,
            With no one to tell you "Nay!"

          So come! It is time for the ship to go
            To this wonderful land so fair,
          And gently the summer breezes blow
            To carry you safely there.
          So come! Set sail on this golden sea,
            To the land that is free from dread!
          "I know what you mean," she said to me,
            "An' I don't wanna go to bed."