Sister Alice has some slippers that are really very new,
She’s had them from the shoe-shop for just a day or two;
They are very, very shiny, of a leather smooth and sleek,
With ribbon bows to tie them;—but goodness, how they squeak!
And early in the morning they come squeaking down the stairs,
They squeak across the polished floor to come to fam’ly prayers;
Then out along the garden walk, where morning winds are cool,
And when ’tis time for lessons, they go squeaking off to school.
But when the shine is worn away, and when the soles are through,
And when the little slippers are old instead of new,
The squeak will go away from them, and in the house and out,
They’ll only make a thumping sound, as Alice walks about.