I once had a sweet little doll, dears,
The prettiest doll in the world;
Her cheeks were so red and so white, dears,
And her hair was so charmingly curled.
But I lost my poor little doll, dears,
As I played in the heath one day;
And I cried for more than a week, dears,
But I never could find where she lay.
I found my poor little doll, dears,
As I played in the heath one day:
Folks say she is terribly changed, dears,
For her paint is all washed away,
And her arms trodden off by the cows, dears
And her hair not the least bit curled:
Yet for old sakes' sake she is still, dears,
The prettiest doll in the world.
From The Water-Babies.
Eversley, 1862.
Exemplifies climax and anti-climax nicely. the ownhood is expressed even at the loss of outwardly appearance.
I loved this poem when I was a child, and my Mother and I used to recite, she loved it too. I have been looking for the poem for years that was in our School reader. I am now 76, ! but my mum has passed on.
Hi, My Mother and I used to say it together. She loved it and she too has passed. My uncle bought me a copy of The Water Babies and I don't know where it is any longer.
My Mum used to recite this to me too. I never knew it was from The Water Babies’ til now.!
I too have fond memories of this poem from a book of children's poems given to me by my great aunt. It reminds me summer holidays at her house in the late 1950s. I didn't realise it came from the" water Babies"
The most Beautiful Doll in The World As a very young girl , I learnt this poem. To- day it still evokes, emotions that I had all those 65 years past.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
It is a nice children's story expressed in poetic form!