Hi! I'm Heather Hernandez and I'd like to share a poem called Wynken, Blynken, and
Nod. It's by Eugene Field, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 2nd 1850
and he moved to Chicago in 1883 where he
lived the rest of his life. He was a
newspaperman, columnist, poet, humorist, and translator. He died in November of 1895
after having lived out the whole remainder of his life in Chicago and he
has long been a favorite poet of mine. His poem, "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod," that I'm
going to read for you today, I first read in this book, which is The Illustrated
Treasury of Children's Literature, which I was given when I was too small to
remember how old I was when I got it. It's a wonderful anthology that I've
always enjoyed and it was published in 1955, edited by Margaret E. Martingnoni, and
"Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" has long been a very popular poem, a favorite of my
family--in fact, my grandmother gave me these little statues of Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
that were always in my room when I was growing up. So I hope you enjoy the poem.
"Wynken, Blynken, and Nod," by Eugene Field. Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
sailed off in a wooden shoe. Sailed on a river of crystal light into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?" The old moon asked the three. "We've come
to fish for the herring fish that live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!" Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. The old moon
laughed and sang a song as they rocked in the wooden shoe, and the wind that
sped them all night long ruffled the waves of dew. The little stars
were the herring fish that lived in that beautiful sea-- "Now cast your nets
wherever you wish-- Never afeard are we!" So cried the stars to the fishermen three,
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. All night long their nets they threw to the stars in
the twinkling foam, then down from the skies came the wooden shoe bringing the
fishermen home; 'twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed, as if it could not be; and some
folk thought 'twas a dream they dreamed of sailing that beautiful sea; but I
shall name you the fishermen three: Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. Wynken and Blynken
are two little eyes, and Nod is a little head, and the wooden shoe that sailed the
skies is a wee one's trundle bed; So shut your eyes while Mother sings of
wonderful sights that be, and you shall see the beautiful things as you rock in
the misty sea, where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three-- Wynken, Blynken, and
Nod.