Dame Duck’s Lecture

verse excerpt:Old Mother Duck has hatched a broodOf ducklings, small and callow:Their little wings are short, their downIs mottled gray and yellow.There is a quiet little stream,That runs into the moat,Where tall green sedges spread their leaves,And water-lilies float.Close by the margin of the brook,The old duck made her nest,Of straw, and leaves, and withered grass,And down from her own breast.