https://3speak.tv/watch?v=philomenob/dkplnyxf
Father calls me William, sister calls me Will,
Mother calls me Willie, but the fellers call me Bill!
Mighty glad I ain’t a girl — ruther be a boy,
Without them sashes, curls, an’ things that’s worn by Fauntleroy!
Love to chawnk green apples an’ go swimmin’ in the lake —
Hate to take the castor-ile they give for belly-ache!
’Most all the time, the whole year round, there ain’t no flies on me,
But jest ’fore Christmas I'm as good as I kin be!
Got a yeller dog named Sport, sick him on the cat;First thing she knows she doesn't know where she is at!Got a clipper sled, an’ when us kids goes out to slide,’Long comes the grocery cart an’ we all hook a ride!But sometimes when the grocery man is worrited an’ cross,
He reaches at us with his whip, an’ larrups up his hoss,An’ then I laff an’ holler, "Oh, ye never teched me!”But jest ’fore Christmas I’m as good as I kin be!
Gran’ma says she hopes that when I git to be a man,
I'll be a missionarer like her oldest broter, Dan
As was et up by the cannibals that live in Ceylon’s Isle,
Where every prospeck pleases, an’ only man is vile!
But gran’ma she has never been to see a Wild West show,
Nor read the life of Daniel Boone, or else I guess she'd know
That Buff’lo Bill an’ cowboys is good enough for me!
Excep jest ’fore Christmas, when I’m as good as I kin be!
And then old Sport he hangs atound, so solemn-like an’ still,
His eyes they seem a-sayin’: “What’s the matter, little Bill?”
The old cat sneaks down off her perch an’ wonder’s what’s become
Of them two enemies of hern that used to make things hum!
But I am so perlite an’ tend so earnestly to biz,
That mother says to father: “How improved our Willie is!”
But father, havin’ been a boy hisself suspicions me
When, jest ’fore Christmas, I'm as good as I kin be!
For Christmas, with its lots an’ lots of candies, cakes an’ toys,
Was made, they say, for proper kids an’ not for naughty boys;
So wash yer face an’ bresh yer hair, an’ mind yer p’s an’ q’s,
And don't bust out yer pantaloons, and don't wear out your shoes;
Say “Yessum” to the ladies, and “Yessur” to the men,
An’ when they’s company, don't pass yer plate for pie again;
But thinkin’ of the things yer’d like to see upon that tree,
Jest ’fore Christmas be as good as yer kin be!
Jest ’Fore Christmas by Eugene Field has been one of my favourite poems since childhood. Reading it as an adult is nostalgic; it brings back lots of memories. When it's getting to Christmas, children are usually threatened with not getting christmas clothes, shoes, presents and the likes if they're not well-behaved. Here in Nigeria, they are also threatened with not eating delicious Christmas rice and chicken when they misbehave. So, when it's getting to Christmas or the end of the year, kids begin to behave better.
I find William in Jest ’Fore Christmas very funny. He is an interesting character who is mischievous and clever! I always enjoy reading and imagining this little boy that I decided to record my reading this time around, and do a video that I can share with you guys. I know it's a day after Christmas so it should be too late for the poem, but I think we're still in the spirit of Christmas — better late than never! Enjoy!
I would love to know how Christmas was for you as a child. Please, endeavour to leave a comment.
