Against Idleness And Mischief
- Against Idleness And Mischief
"Against Idleness And Mischief" is a poem in "Divine Songs for Children", by Isaac Watts, and is one of his best known poems. As the title suggests, it is an exhortation to work hard.
Text
:How doth the little busy bee:Improve each shining hour,:And gather honey all the day:From every opening flower!
:How skilfully she builds her cell!:How neat she spreads the wax!:And labours hard to store it well:With the sweet food she makes.
:In works of labour or of skill,:I would be busy too;:For Satan finds some mischief still:For idle hands to do.
:In books, or work, or healthful play,:Let my first years be passed,:That I may give for every day:Some good account at last.
"How Doth the Little Crocodile"
Watts' poem was famously parodied by Lewis Carroll in his book "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", in the poem "How Doth the Little Crocodile," [Martin Gardner. "The Annotated Alice."] which is now better known than the original.
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