They had the rope, they caught the horse,…
source date: 1891
availability: public-domain

ade is full of ire — For what he needed now he knows — A heavy policy on fire. Dealing In Futures A traveler on a prairie road strewed acorns on the lea; The hungry pigs they followed him and laughed with joy to see The tenderfoot throw pocketsful of acorns on the ground. Which they devoured with munching jaws as fast as they were found. But one escaped their greedy search and grew into a tree As high as corn, and this year’s corn was very high— te he! It spread its branches east and west, and whis- pered, as it would Have blessed the man whose little deed had grown to so great good Long years pass on. Some western men scan all the treeless plain For something which they cannot see, their eager eyes they strain They had the rope, they caught the horse, they’ve got the man likewise ; Now, if they could but find a tree, complete would be their prize. Joy! Joy! they laugh with gladsome hearts; far, away they see — And bless the man who sowed for them this acorn-planted tree. They stand beneath its shady boughs, they fix the one-line swing — And when the picnic rode away the tree was blossoming. O, let us then, whate’er we do, plant acorns while we may, For one of them may grow to be a lusty free some day; And then, some pleasant mornin, when we’ve nothing else to do.