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 like me,
From the heels up to the head,
And i see him jump before me,
When i jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him,
Is the way he likes to grow,
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 is none of him at all.
He stays so close beside me,
He is a coward you can see.
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,
Had stayed at home behind me,
And was fast asleep in bed.
