THE BEST TREE by ANONYMOUS

KARL lay on the floor by the firelight bright
Thinking about the trees.
"I love them all," he said to himself,
As he named them over with ease;
"The chestnut, ash, and oak so high,
The pine, with its needle leaves,
The spruce and cedar and hemlock green,
And the maple with its keys.

"The dainty willow, with pussies gray,
The birch with bark so white,
The apple tree with its blossoms sweet,
And the fruit so red and bright.
But the one I love the best of all
Blooms and bears fruit together;
It's sure to be filled at this time of the year,
Whatever may be the weather.

"Its blossoms are blue and yellow and red,
All shining with silvery hue.
There are stems of golden and silver thread,
And candles that glisten like dew.
With such wonderful fruit there's none can compare;
From lowest to topmost bough
Every sort of a toy is swinging in air —
Jumping frogs and cats that me-ow.

"There are trumpets and balls and dolls that talk,
And drums and whistles that blow,
And guns and whips and horses that walk,
And books, and wagons that go.
There are musical tops and boats that sail,
And puzzles and knives and games;
There are Noah's arks and also a whale,
And boxes and ribbons and reins.

"There's candy and oranges, skates and sleds,
And mugs for good little girls,
And cradles and clothes for dollies' beds,
And dolls with hair in curls.
There are fans for girls and tools for boys,
And handkerchiefs, rattles, and ties,
And horns and bells and suchlike toys,
And tea-sets and candy pies.

"Oh! what a sight is this wonderful tree,
With its gifts that sparkle and hide!
Other trees may be good, but there's none for me
In all the world beside
Like the beautiful, merry Christmas tree
With its branches spreading wide —
The merry, beautiful, sparkling tree
That blossoms at Christmastide."

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

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