RISE ABOVE THE CIRCUMSTANCES

Old Jim was such a faithful horse,
But he was growing old;
And Uncle Lem made up his mind
The horse should not be sold

But turned out in the pastureland
To roam and feed at will.
Or rest beneath a shady tree,
Down by the waters still.

Lem loved his faithful servant, Jim,
And watched him day by day;
And when he whistled for his horse,
Jim gave an answering Neigh.

One day the horse had disappeared,
And Lem went out to see
What had become of faithful Jim,
Where could the creature be?

Lem thought about an abandoned well,
Which had uncovered been;
Lem hurried down the path to see--
Yes! Jim had fallen in!

If he should try to pull him out.
A leg might be broken be;
So he would go and fetch his gun
And end Jim's misery.

He brought his gun, but couldn't bear
To shoot old faithful Jim;
So brought his shovel and his pick
With which to bury him.

He took a shovelful of dirt
And rolled it in the well;
It rolled onto the horse's back
And to the bottom fell.

As fast as every load was sent,
Old Jim would stamp it down;
And as they both thus worked away,
At last the well was gone!

Out jumped the horse, all whole and sound,
Kicked up his heals and ran.
Let's get from out this simple tale
A lesson, if we can.

When people try to crush us down
And cover us with dirt,
Let's stamp it underneath our feet
And never let it hurt.

Let's be like Jim and rise above
The troubles that beset;
If we are on the side of right,
We'll gain the victory yet.


Author Unknown