Lot 117: Norman Ault (British, 1880-1950) The weathercock unframed

The weathercock
signed and dated 'NORMAN AULT 1916' (lower right)
watercolour heightened with bodycolour
26 x 18cm (10 1/4 x 7 1/16in).
unframed

Published:
Norman Ault, Dreamland shores, a book of verse for children and other written and pictured by Norman Ault, (London 1920), p. 23-24, ill. frontispiece.

The present lot accompanies the eponymous poeam:

The golden cock upon the steeple top
Is sometimes cross, I think, or shy-
He turns away when I pass by;
At times he seems to wish that I would stop
To talk when I pass by.

Up there he sees all things, both far and near:
He sees the stream flow past the mill;
He looks beyond the farthest hill,
And then he sees to-morrow coming here
Over the farthest hill.

He seems to notice big and little things:
He watches when I play at ball,
He sees my rabbits, knows them all;
And when the rooks fly by with ragged wings
He turns to count them all.

He is so busy seeing things up there-
From morn to eve , from eve to morn,-
That he has grown quite thin and worn.
He never eats, he has no time to spare,
That's why he's thin and worn.

Some night I'll climb the starry stairs to where
He stands above a moonlit land,
And corn I'll take in either hand,
And coming, coax him till he eats it there
Out of my open hand.

And then he'll know I love him, and will be
Gladder to see me than before,
He'll look away from me no more;
But when I pass he'll greet me eagerly,
And turn his back no more.