The chatter of squirrel and chipmunk,

The call of the shy wood dove.—

Oh, the forest’s the place to listen

To that grandest of anthems—Love.

Ere the darksome shades of the forest

Have vanished, at early dawn,

A million happy creatures

Are chanting their morning psalm;

They sing of the joy of living,

In happiness, peace, and love,

And gratefully raise their voices

To the great All-Giver above.

[Pg 44]

And I, in a gladsome spirit,

Join in with the happy throng;

Sustained, and strengthened, and soothed,

By Nature’s mighty song.—

And oft when I come to the city,

I long for that song of love,

That the forest’s happy creatures

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