Anonymous Poem

A ship I saw a-sailing,
A ship so wondrous fair
The crew were difficult to see,
So small were they, all there.
The bow was made of rose-petals,
The mast was a rose’s thorn;
A beetle stood at the steering-helm,
And a beetle at the stern.
Lovely four-winged dragonflies,
Rocked to the wavelets’ measure,
Traveled as the passengers
And had the greatest pleasure.
O dear good evening breeze,
Blow only sweet and low
Else the ship will sink with man and mouse,
And all the joy will go.