They noticed not the hours depart

They noticed not the hours depart, Until the sun commenced to dart A sheaf of lances, long and bright, Above the distant mountain height; Then from the schoolroom, in a heap, They jumped and tumbled, twenty deep, In eager haste to disappear In deepest shades of forests near.

When next the children gathered there, With wondering faces fresh and fair, It took an hour of morning prime, According to the teacher's time, To get the books in place once more, And order to the room restore. So great had been the haste to hide, The windows were left open wide; And scholars knew, without a doubt, That Brownies had been thereabout.