I will tell you now a story
Which I think you'll understand,
About a little mer-boy
That ran away to land.

He ran away to land he did,
From out the shining sea,
For he wanted to be wandering—
He wanted to be free!

And all the mer-child fairy-books
Are full of wondrous tales,
Of a land of snowy mountain-peaks,
A land of grassy vales,

A land where birds are musical,
A land where flowers are sweet,
Where everybody has two tails,
And calls them legs and feet!

He ran away to land he did,
One midnight cold and black,
But he found he could not walk at all—
And so he came right back!