LESSON 20
A MOMENT TOO LATE

WORD LIST

downy firmly staid petals crime

1. A moment too late, my beautiful bird,

A moment too late are you now;

The wind has your soft, downy nest disturbed—

The nest that you hung on the bough.

2. A moment too late; that string in your bill,

Would have fastened it firmly and strong;

But see, there it goes, rolling over the hill!

Oh, you staid a moment too long.

3. A moment, one moment too late, busy bee;

The honey has dropped from the flower:

No use to creep under the petals and see;

It stood ready to drop for an hour.

4. A moment too late; had you sped on your wing,

The honey would not have been gone;

Now you see what a very, a very sad thing

'T is to stay a moment too long.

5. Little girl, never be a moment too late,

It will soon end in trouble or crime;

Better be an hour early, and stand and wait,

Than a moment behind the time.

6. If the bird and the bee, little boy, were too late,

Remember, as you play along

On your way to school, with pencil and slate,

Never stay a moment too long.

STUDY GUIDE

A. Discussion Questions—Talk about these questions.

1. In the poem, what happens to the bird and the bee because they were a moment too late?

2. The writer says it is “better (to) be an hour early” than late. Do you agree with this? Why or why not?

3. Have you ever been a moment too late for something? Tell what happened.

4. What lesson does this poem teach?

5. The poem ends with the line “never stay a moment too long.” Is this good advice? Why or why not?

B. Rhyming—Find words in the poem that rhyme with the following words.

_______________: thing

_______________: crime

_______________: pill

_______________: sing

_______________: power

_______________: hop

_______________: date

_______________: land