| I HAVE a little shadow that goes in and out with me, | |
| And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. | |
| He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; | |
| And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed. | |
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| The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow" | 5 |
| Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow; | |
| For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India-rubber ball, | |
| And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all. | |
| |
| He hasn’t got a notion of how children ought to play, | |
| And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way. | 10 |
| He stays so close beside me, he’s a coward you can see; | |
| I’d think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me! | |
| |
| One morning, very early, before the sun was up, | |
| I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup; | |
| But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head, | 15 |
| Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed. | |
