By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 1
A frog puffs up to grow as big as an ox and bursts into little bits.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 1
A grasshopper sings all summer instead of saving food for winter and goes hungry.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 2
A cat and fox take things that don't belong to them. The fox brags about knowing many tricks, while the cat knows just one. When dogs chase the cat and fox, the cat's one trick of climbing a tree saves him, while the fox's many tricks fail him.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 2
A hen lays eggs of gold. The greedy man who owns the hen foolishly kills her to get at the gold inside. The greedy man finds no gold inside the hen and has destroyed the source of his gold.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 3
A dog holding a bone in his mouth sees his reflection. Feeling greedy, he tries to grab the bone from his reflection and loses his bone in the water.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 3
A country bumpkin thinks pumpkins should grow on oak trees and acorns should grow on pumpkin vines until an acorn falls off a tree and hits him on the nose.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 4
A raven up in a tree holds a tasty treat in his beak that a fox would like to eat. The fox falsely flatters the bird, inciting the raven to sing, even though ravens make ugly caws. When the raven squawks, the tasty morsel falls into the fox's mouth.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 4
A country mouse visits a city mouse and samples the delicious foods the city has to offer. When they hear a noise, the country mouse flees back to the country, valuing safety and serenity over decadence.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 5
A gnat mocks and stings a lion, turning the lion's strength against himself. The sassy gnat gets his comeuppance when he becomes entangled in a web and eaten by a spider.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 5
A dove rescues an ant from drowning. Later, the ant rescues the dove from a man with a slingshot.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 6
A fox tries to get some grapes but they are out of reach. The fox says the grapes are sour and he doesn't really want them anyway.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 6
A donkey dresses in a lion's skin, scaring others. A man spots his ears, realizes he is a donkey, and leads him about.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 7
A fox invites a stork to dinner, but serves soup on a plate that makes it impossible for the stork to eat. In return, the stork does the same to the fox.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 7
A monkey flatters a cat into sneaking roasting chestnuts from the fire. The monkey gobbles the chestnuts up while the cat only ends up a with burned paw and an empty belly.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 8
A hare and a tortoise race. Even though the hare is far faster, he suffers from overconfidence, doesn't try his hardest, and the tortoise wins the race.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 8
A hungry stork goes fishing. He ignores the numerous fish swimming around, waiting for something better to swim along. Eventually the fish disappear, nothing better comes by, and he must settle for a snail.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 9
A raven sees an eagle grab up a sheep and tries to do the same. The raven fails, becoming tangled in the wool of the sheep. The shepherd comes along and puts the raven in a cage.
By: Jean de La Fontaine
Week: 9
A miller and his son bring a donkey to market. They overreact and jump to follow the advice of all the people passing by, eventually realizing they should trust their own judgement.
By: William Allingham
Week: 10
The poem describes the lives and hijinks of a group of fairies, including their king and queen. They scare hunters, plant trees, steal children, and get revenge.
By: William Allingham
Week: 10
The poem tells the tale of a snake that tried to eat a fairy. The fairy's song uplifts him and saves him while the snake falls and is eaten by a mole.
By: William Allingham
Week: 11
The Witch of the Wold grabs the old Fairy King's crown and puts it on her head. In a twist, stealing and wearing the crown vanquishes the queen. She disappears, and the king grows young.
By: William Allingham
Week: 11
The poem describes a delightful summer day of work and play.
By: William Allingham
Week: 12
The poem narrator warns a robin that summer is ending and winter is near, describing the changes in weather, flora, fauna the accompany the fall.
By: William Allingham
Week: 12
The poem describes a little girl named Amy Margaret in glowing terms.
By: William Allingham
Week: 13
The poem describes an unruly group of children in humorous terms.
By: William Allingham
Week: 13
The poem first describes a dream slipping down from the sky to slide under the eyelids of a little boy and then relates the fantastical dream experienced by boy.
By: William Allingham
Week: 14
The poem expresses one person's deep love for another, perhaps an instructor's love for a child.
By: William Allingham
Week: 14
The poem describes what the narrator cherishes about each of the four seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter.
By: William Allingham
Week: 15
A man tells a cat and dog that one can stay inside the house and the other must live outside. Both cat and dog want to live inside, so they race for it. During the race, the dog is hit by a beggar man's staff and loses the race. Outside the dog stays, and the dog has barked at beggars ever since.
By: William Allingham
Week: 15
The poem/song/lay asks where a series of children are by name, ponders the fantastical, and then states each child is safe right there.
By: William Allingham
Week: 16
A child tries to convince a bird to become her pet. The odd verses (1, 3, ...) are the child's arguments and the even verses are the bird's replies. In the end, the bird prefers freedom in the wild to a pampered life in a cage, for the 'forest cannot be held within a silver dish.'
By: William Allingham
Week: 16
The narrator wishes they were a primrose, a tree, and finally a robin, but worries about the cold and values the sweetness of Mother's kiss.
By: William Allingham
Week: 17
The narrator asks a bird who it sings to. The bird replies it sings to Amy. The bird asks for payment for its song, a crumb and a smile from Amy.
By: William Allingham
Week: 17
The narrator calls for their neighbors to take hands and dance the round under the moonlight.
By: William Allingham
Week: 18
The narrator asks us whether we have heard the hammer of the Elfin shoemaker working up on the mound. The narrator advises if you capture the shoemaker you may use him to make yourself rich. The narrator saw him once, but before he could capture him the shoemaker threw snuff in his face and disappeared.
By: William Allingham
Week: 18
The narrator asks Barnaby whether he wants to go, but Barnaby is indecisive.
By: William Allingham
Week: 19
The narrator advises the reader to sleep and night and remain awake during the day. The narrator describes nightfall and the nighttime routine of a girl named Emily.
By: William Allingham
Week: 19
The poem describes the actions and sensations of swinging.
By: William Allingham
Week: 20
The poem describes the characteristics and appearance of various birds.
By: William Allingham
Week: 20
The poem contrasts a sunny day and a stormy day at the shore.
By: William Allingham
Week: 21
The poem describes the appearance, behavior, and disappearance of a bubble.
By: William Allingham
Week: 21
Nick Spence sold his master's cow for far too little money and didn't feel bad about it, so the narrator recommends punishment.
By: William Allingham
Week: 22
The narrator suggests building a city by the sea and hopes to be made king of it.
By: William Allingham
Week: 22
The poem discusses what links all of humanity on Earth.
By: William Allingham
Week: 23
A lady and lord riding horseback encounter a poor man riding a donkey. The lord angrily orders the poor man out of their way, and the man refuses. The lady treats the poor man kindly, and he moves off to the side and tips his hat politely.
By: William Allingham
Week: 23
Tom Cricket plays for some dancing Cockroaches until they refuse to bring him some food. When he stops playing, the Cockroaches want revenge, but the Cook and the Scullion interrupt their plot.
By: William Allingham
Week: 24
In 'The Year of Hardships,' the narrator outlines a year of harsh weather and little food or crops, but feels fortunate they were not born that year.
By: William Allingham
Week: 24
The poem is a riddle about a little boy who dances, smiles, and nods but cannot speak, breathe, cry, or kiss. (The answer is the little boy is a reflection in a mirror.)
By: Henry W. Longfellow
Week: 25
What do an arrow and a song have in common? In, The Arrow and the Song, this clever poem compares firing an arrow and a song, their flight, and their ultimate effects and eventual locations.
By: Jeremiah Eames Rankin
Week: 25
'The Babie' describes the appearance and appeal of an adorable baby.
By: Isaac Watts
Week: 26
Let Dogs Delight to Bark and Bite advises children they were not meant to bark, bite, growl, and fight like dogs, bears, and lions.
By: Edward Lear
Week: 26
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat sail on the sea, buy a ring from a piggy, get married, and dance in the light of the moon.
By: Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
Week: 27
Little Things ponders the makeup and the vastness of the sea and of time.
By: Old Song
Week: 27
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star describes the circumstances and surroundings of the twinkling stars in the night sky.
By: Robert Browning
Week: 28
From the play 'Pippa Passes', Pippa's Song describes a peaceful spring morning.
Week: 28
The poem 'The Days of the Month' outlines how many days each month has throughout the year.
By: William Miller
Week: 29
Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, making sure the children are in bed. Some interpretations of the poem view Willie Winkie as a personification of sleep visiting all the children.
By: Anonymous
Week: 29
The poem describes a curly-headed boy who always tells the truth and everyone loves him.
By: George MacDonald
Week: 30
The poem describes the wind's furious attempt to blow out the moon, but the moon doesn't even notice.
By: Henry Holcomb Bennett
Week: 30
The poem describes a parade. The flag comes by and people remove their hats in a show of respect.
By: Stephen Collins Foster
Week: 31
The poem describes the happy days of summer within their treasured home of Kentucky, but warns harder times are ahead.
By: Mary Emily Bradley
Week: 31
A little girl finds a chrysalis and the narrator explains a beautiful butterfly will emerge. The little girl dies before the butterfly emerges. When the butterfly sheds its cocoon and flies away, the narrator ponders that like the butterfly, the little girl may have shed her shell to become something even more beautiful.
By: Alfred Tennyson
Week: 32
While lifeforms come and go and live and die, a stream continues on.
By: George Pope Morris
Week: 32
The narrator begs a woodman to save a cherished tree.
By: Leigh Hunt
Week: 33
The narrator finds Cupid, puts him in a cup of wine, and drinks him. Cupid lives on inside the narrator happily ticking the narrator with his wings.
By: Thomas Moore
Week: 33
Cupid is stung by a bee and runs to his mother, Venus. His mother asks him to imagine how much the sting of love hurts if a mere bee's sting hurts so much.
By: Edgar Allan Poe
Week: 34
The narrator hears a tapping at his door. He feels nervous, but assumes himself it is no more than a visitor knocking.
By: Edgar Allan Poe
Week: 34
The narrator hears a tapping at his door. He opens the door, but no one is there. All he hears is a whisper of the word, 'Lenore.' He goes back into his chamber and the tapping starts again, even louder. He tells himself it is only the wind at his window.
By: Edgar Allan Poe
Week: 35
The narrator hears a tapping and throws open his shutter. A Raven enters and perches above a bust of Pallas Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom. At first the narrator feels relieved. The narrator asks the Raven his name, and the Raven answers, 'Nevermore.'
By: Edgar Allan Poe
Week: 35
The narrator states the Raven will leave tomorrow. The Raven sits on the bust and says 'Nevermore' again. The narrator rationalizes that the bird learned the word from his prior master who suffered some disaster. The narrator sits and looks at the bird, trying to figure out some explanation for what is happening.
By: Edgar Allan Poe
Week: 36
The Raven's eyes burn through the narrator. The narrator smells incense and believes he hears angels nearby. The narrator calls the Raven a wretch and wishes for a potion to make him forget Lenore. The Raven just croaks back, 'Nevermore.' The narrator wonders whether evil sent the Raven or if the Raven has been sent to soothe him. The raven croaks again, 'Nevermore.'
By: Edgar Allan Poe
Week: 36
The narrator asks the Raven whether his soul will be reunited with Lenore in heaven. The Raven says again, 'Nevermore.' The narrator demands the Raven go back to where it came from, but the Raven says in reply, 'Nevermore.' The Raven does not leave, sitting and casting a shadow of sadness over the narrator that shall be lifted nevermore.
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