A Child's Evening Prayer

Ere on my bed my limbs I lay,

God grant me grace my prayers to say:

O God! preserve my mother dear

In strength and health for many a year;

And, O! preserve my father too,

And may I pay him reverence due;

And may I my best thoughts employ

To be my parents' hope and joy;

And O! preserve my brothers both

From evil doings and from sloth,

And may we always love each other

Our friends, our father, and our mother:

And still, O Lord, to me impart

An innocent and grateful heart,

That after my great sleep I may

Awake to thy eternal day! Amen