Skip to content
Linespedia

Little Orphant Annie

By James Whitcomb Riley

Topics: classic

Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,     An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,     An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,     An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;     An' all us other childern, when the supper things is done,     We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun     A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,     An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you         Ef you          Don't             Watch              Out!     Onc't they was a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,     An' when he went to bed at night, away up stairs,     His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,     An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wasn't there at all!     An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,     An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'wheres, I guess;     But all they found was thist his pants an' roundabout:     An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you         Ef you          Don't             Watch              Out!     An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh and grin,     An' make fun of ever'one, an' all her blood an' kin;     An' onc't, when they was "company," an' ole folks was there,     She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!     An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,     They was two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,     An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!     An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you         Ef you          Don't             Watch              Out!     An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,     An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!     An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,     An' the lightn'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,     You better mind yer parents, an' yer teachers fond an' dear,     An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,     An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about     Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you         Ef you          Don't             Watch              Out!

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,..."

"Little Orphant Annie" is a quintessential example of James Whitcomb Riley's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:James Whitcomb Riley

"Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,..." by James Whitcomb Riley

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Related lines

"Writ in between the lines of his life-deed         We trace the sacred service of a heart         Answering the Divine command, in every par"

"Crowd about me, little children -         Come and cluster 'round my knee     While I tell a little story         That happened once with me."

"O the night was dark and the night was late,         And the robbers came to rob him;      And they picked the locks of his palace-gate,"

"O her beautiful eyes! they are as blue as the dew         On the violet's bloom when the morning is new,         And the light of their love"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

James Whitcomb Riley

About James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley (1849–1916) was an American poet known as the "Hoosier Poet." His dialect poems—including "Little Orphant Annie" and "When the Frost Is on the Punkin"—celebrate rural Indiana life and childhood nostalgia.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"Writ in between the lines of his life-deed        ..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.