ALL HALLOWEEN.
The lead has been melted
And fortunes been told;
The apples been bobbed for;
The forfeits been sold.
The nuts have been roasted;
The revel is done;
The hand on the old clock
Is pointing to one.
A patter, a scamper
Of small, dainty feet-
New revelers are coming
The fun to repeat.
The apples go bobbing;
The candle spins round;
The nutshells are scattered;
The yarn is unwound.
The last crumb is eaten;
The revel is o’er;
The hand on the old clock
Is pointing to four.
A rustle, a scraping
Of skirts on the stair;
A step on the threshold,
And Bridget is there.
“Jist see the confusion!”
She cries in affright.
“Sure, now, ’twas the fairies
That played here last night.”
– Adella B. Beard in Harper’s Young People