To the Children
When children have been good,
That is, be it understood,
Good at meal-times, good at play,
Good at night, and good all day, –
They shall have the pretty things
Merry Christmas always brings.
Naughty, romping girls and boys
Tear their clothes and make a noise,
Soil their aprons and their frocks,
And deserve no Christmas-box.
Such as these shall never look
At this pretty Picture-Book.
(Heinrich Hoffmann)