The Children's Hour

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Longfellow's beautiful poem tells of the children's hour, that time of day when the little ones are permitted to meet their elders on equal ground. He describes the love that exists between the grandfather and his three little granddaughters, who each night insist upon coming into his study, where, for one golden hour they reign supreme, and he is their willing, devoted servant. As the poet says, speaking of his hero: "They climb into my turret, O'er the arms and back of my chair, If I try to escape they surround me, They seem to be everywhere." The grandfather entertains the children with fairy stories that never grow old, and the evening passes as happily for him as it does for them.