Page:Poems White.djvu/81

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A SCARLET FEVER CASE
A little girl, a happy child,
Felt in a whirl; she went to bed;
A burning fever, fierce and wild,
Took hold of her and turned her head.
The doctor and the nurse soon came.
"She's plump and healthy, never mind;
All children must pass through the same,
She'll soon be up, as you will find;
A scarlet fever case, you know."

And then how she did fret and kick,
Which only made the fever grow,
And caused the blankets so to stick
That all of them she'd throw aside:
To keep her covered—it was not
An easy task, for she had tried
To jump from bed,—it was so hot.

A month they kept her tightly so.
The other children were all told
That near her room they must not go,—
Her illness from them to withhold.

Her father came three times a day,
With dimes and kisses and a smile,
To whisper "Courage!" and to say,
"I love my girlie all the while."

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