Classic Poem

When I was a little fellow, long ago,
The season of all seasons seemed to me
The Summer's afterglow and fantasy —
The red October of Ontario:
To ramble unrestrain'd where maples grow
Thick-set with butternut and hickory,
And be the while companion'd airily
By elfin things a child alone may know!

And how with mugs of cider, sweet and mellow,
And block and hammer for the gather'd store
Of toothsome nuts, we'd lie around before
The fire at nights, and hear the old folks tell o'
Red Indians and bears, and the Yankee war —
Long ago, when I was a little fellow!