James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916)
Little Orphant Annie
INSCRIBED WITH ALL FAITH AND AFFECTION
To all the little children: -- The happy ones; and sad ones;
The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones;
The good ones -- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.
1Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
2An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
3An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
4An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
5An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is done,
6We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
7A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,
8An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
10 Don't
11 Watch
12 Out!
13Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn't say his prayers, --
14An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,
15His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,
16An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there at all!
17An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,
18An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'-wheres, I guess;
19But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an' roundabout: --
20An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
21 Ef you
22 Don't
23 Watch
24 Out!
25An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
26An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an'-kin;
27An' wunst, when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz there,
28She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
29An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
30They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,
31An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!
32An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
33 Ef you
34 Don't
35 Watch
36 Out!
37An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,
38An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
39An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
40An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away, --
41You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachurs fond an' dear,
42An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
43An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
44Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you
45 Ef you
46 Don't
47 Watch
48 Out!
Notes
4] board-an'-keep: her food and lodging.
8] Gobble-uns 'at gits: the ones who gobble (eat you up) and that gets ...
9] Ef: if.
13] Wunst they wuz: Once there was ... (a traditional opening for a children's story).
16] kivvers: (bed-)covers.
17] rafter-room: attic, the room that has the rafters or upper timbers for the house.
cubby-hole: small place for a chest, crib; place for children to hide; snuggery.
cupboard or clothes press.
18] chimbly-flue: chimney flue or chamber to contain smoke upwards and outside.
19] thist: just.
roundabout: close-fitting short jacket.
25] allus: always.
40] lightnin'-bugs: fireflies.
squenched: "squelched" (made a sucking sound like something stuck in mud or water) and "quenched" (extinguished).
43] he'p: help.
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: James Whitcomb Riley, Complete Works, Memorial edn. in 10 vols. (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1916): V, 1169-72. PS 2700 F16 Robarts Library.
First publication date:
15
November
1885
Publication date note: Indianapolis Journal (Nov. 15, 1885), originally published as "The Elf Child."
RPO poem editor: Ian Lancashire
RP edition: RPO 1998.
Recent editing: 2:2002/1/16
Rhyme: aabbccdeefgd
Other poems by James Whitcomb Riley
