Reuben Buys a Farm

From the Omaha Daily Bee, January 21, 1913.
 By Minna Irving.
 

 The day was bright and sunny,
 And business going well.
 But Reuben in his office
 A prey to dreaming fell.
 He thought of woods and meadows
 With all their sylvan charm.
 “Good bye, old town,” he murmured,
 “For Reuben buys a farm.”
 
 He found a roomy dwelling
 With roses round the door.
 A covered well behind it,
 A picket fence before.
 And ancient apple-orchards
 Where sang, secure from harm,
 An orchestra of robins,
 So Reuben bought the farm.
 
 But getting up so early
 To milk by lantern-light,
 And feed the pigs and chickens,
 Was not unmixed delight.
 A pain was in his shoulder,
 A cramp was in his arm,
 And life was full of trouble
 For Reuben on the farm.
 
 He loved his growing garden
 And pleasant pasture lands;
 But not his aching muscles
 And badly blistered hands.
 The household gathered round him
 And viewed him with alarm.
 “We all,” they said, “should hustle
 When Reuben buys a farm.”
 
 Now Paul attends the horses,
 The cows are Mary’s care,
 The pigs and geese and chickens
 Jeannette’s attention share.
 And George in ducks discovers
 A never-failing charm.
 So everybody’s happy
 While Reuben runs the farm.