Willie, Johnnie, Mary Jane and Peter turn a comb, a drum and a napkin on a stick into a full marching band. It practically demands to be stomped round the room rather than sat through.
From A Child's Garden of Verses. See the whole collection.
Bring the comb and play upon it!
Marching, here we come!
Willie cocks his highland bonnet,
Johnnie beats the drum.
Mary Jane commands the party,
Peter leads the rear;
Feet in time, alert and hearty,
Each a Grenadier!
All in the most martial manner
Marching double-quick;
While the napkin, like a banner,
Waves upon the stick!
Here's enough of fame and pillage,
Great commander Jane!
Now that we've been round the village,
Let's go home again.
About this poem
Full text confirmed: Willie, Johnnie, Mary Jane ('commands the party') and Peter ('leads the rear') all appear as described, marching to a comb.
A parade with a full cast: Willie in his bonnet, Johnnie on the drum, Mary Jane in charge, Peter bringing up the rear, all marching to a comb played like an instrument. It's one of the livelier poems in A Child's Garden of Verses, built for moving rather than sitting still. Hum it and march round the room, swapping in your own child's name for one of the marchers.
Public domain. Text from A Child's Garden of Verses (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1885), via Project Gutenberg. View the source edition