Stop! Stop! Pretty Water

By Eliza Lee Follen

Annotations by Rene Marzuk

Mary Nimmo Moran. *Across the Water.* Etching on paper, ca. 1880-1890,
Smithsonian Art Museum. Public Domain.

I.

“Stop! stop! pretty water,”
Said Mary one day,
To a frolicsome brook
That was running away.

II.

“You run on so fast!
I wish you would stay;
My boat and my flowers
You will carry away.

III.

“But I will run after;
Mother says that I may;
For I would know where
You are running away.”

IV.

So Mary ran on;
But I have heard say
That she never could find
Where the brook ran away.

FOLLEN, ELIZA LEE. “STOP! STOP! PRETTY WATER,” IN LITTLE SONGS, 16-7. BOSTON: WHITTEMORE & CO., 1856.

Contexts

Eliza Lee Follen (1787-1860) was an abolitionist, editor, and writer. In her preface to the first edition of Little Songs, published in 1833, she wrote:

“The little folks must decide whether the book is entertaining. To them I present my little volume, with the earnest hope that it will receive their approbation. If children love to lisp my rhymes, while parents find no fault in them, I ask no higher praise.”

Definitions from Oxford English Dictionary:

frolicsome: Full of frolic; gay, merry, mirthful..

About This Site

Edited by Karen Kilcup and coedited by Rene Marzuk and Josh Benjamin, The Envious Lobster collects earlier U.S. nature writing and environmental writing for children. Aimed at a broad audience including scholars, teachers at all levels, students, parents, reading groups, and (of course) children, the current draft anthology comprises about 300 entries in multiple genres. As the editorial collective expands, we anticipate that the anthology will, too. If you have ideas about texts or supporting materials you would like to see included, please email Professor Kilcup, the General Editor (klkilcup AT uncg DOT edu).