1. in_ernet_dli_2015_170391_2015_170391_Constructive-English

CONSTRUCTIVE

ENGLISH

A COURSE OF ILLUSTRATED READINGS WITH EXERCISES IN LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

EDITED BY

H A TREBLE M A

BOOK II

LONDON HUMPHREY MILFORD OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

PRINTED 1922 IN GREAT BRITAIN BY R. CLAY AND SONS, LTD.,

BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

This series is designed to furnish a complete course of instruction in English for elementary schools. It consists, first, of six books containing illustrated reading lessons, graded to the age and attainments of the pupils, and long enough to be interesting in themselves. In the first two books no printed exercises are given, the pupils being sufficiently occupied with the initial difficulties of reading; but teachers' books are provided, giving full suggestions as to the treatment of the reading matter in class, and a collection of exercises for oral work or the blackboard. In the remaining books, from the third onwards, exercises are appended to the reading lessons, and are intended to be worked by the pupils under the guidance of the teacher. These exercises are framed to assist the child in the appreciation and the use of words, and in the practice of composition. The last four books also are accompanied by books for the teacher, in which further suggestions are made, suited to the stages of progress attained by the pupils. It is hoped that the whole series will form a complete course of English, in accordance with the views and recommendations of the committees that have reported on the educational use of this subject.

The preparation of the books was originally undertaken by Mr. G. Clifford Dent, author of the well-known Exercises in Prose Literature and Composition. The work, interrupted by his sudden illness and death when no more than the selection of passages had been done, has now been completed by Mr. H. A. Treble, who has revised the selection, added much new matter, and prepared the whole of the teaching material and the exercises.

The extract entitled "The Steeple Trap" is taken from Jacob Abbott's Rollo at Work and Rollo at Play, published by J. M. Dent & Sons in the Everyman Library, and that entitled "The Yellow Sixpenny" from Mrs. Molesworth's Carrots, published by Macmillan & Co.

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CONTENTS

PAGE

THE CRANES (Lewis Marsh) . . . . . . . 5

BED-TIME (Thomas Hood) . . . . . . . . 13

SNOW-DROP (The Brothers Grimm) . . . . . 15

THE WONDERFUL WORLD (W. B. Rands) . . . 32

THE YELLOW SIXPENNY (Mrs. Molesworth) . . . 34

SANTA CLAUS (Sarah Whitman) . . . . . . 40

THE GIANT'S HEART (Lewis Marsh) . . . . . 42

ROBIN REDBREAST (Wm. Allingham) . . . . . 51

THE THREE CHILDREN OF FORTUNE (The Brothers Grimm) . . . . . . . . 53

DUTCH LULLABY (Eugene Field) . . . . . . 60

THE STEEPLE TRAP (Jacob Abbott) . . . . . 63

DAME DUCK'S FIRST LECTURE ("Aunt Effie"). . 86

THE FOX AND THE CROW (Æsop). . . . . . 90

MARCH (Wm. Wordsworth) . . . . . . . . 92

A LOBSTER QUADRILLE (Lewis Carroll) . . . . 93

THE CRANES

A FAIRY TALE FROM HUNGARY

PART I

1. Once upon a time, a certain peasant lived on the plains of Hungary with his wife and two children, a little girl and a baby boy.

2. One day, he and his wife were getting ready to go to the market to sell some cows. The mother said to her little girl, "Mary, we are going to the market. I hope you will be a very good girl while we are away. You must look after your little brother,

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6

THE CRANES

and see that he eats a good dinner. Then

you can take him into the garden to have a

game ; but be sure you do not go out into

the road." Then the peasants kissed their

children, and went off with the cows.

3. After dinner, Mary played for some

time in the garden with her little brother.

Presently, she saw some of the village

children racing in the road, so she got up

and watched them.

4. Then she thought, "Surely no harm

would be done, if I went and joined in the

game just for a few minutes." Off she ran

into the road, though she knew well that it

was very naughty of her.

5. While she was playing with her friends,

she saw some cranes fly into the garden.

Now it is said that these big birds sometimes

steal babies ; so when Mary saw them enter

the garden, she ran back to look after her

brother. But he was nowhere to be found.

6. Mary sat down and cried, and cried,

and cried. She knew now that the wicked

cranes had flown away with the baby.

THE CRANES

7

7. “Oh ! what will my father and mother

say ?” she said. “Why was I so careless as

to leave poor little baby all alone?”

8. She got up at last, and ran across the

fields as fast as her legs could carry her.

She hoped that she would be able to find

the cranes, and take her little brother away

from them.

Part II

1. Presently she came to a meadow, and

saw in the middle an oven with six cakes

baking in it. The oven called out, “Take

out my cakes, take out my cakes, or else

they will burn ! They have been baked too

long already.”

2. So Mary ran to the oven, and took the

cakes out one by one. Then she said to

the oven, “Oh ! please can you tell me

where the cranes have flown with my baby

brother?”

3. “Yes,” said the oven. “Cross over the

field and you will find a path. Keep straight

along the path.” Mary did as she was told,

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THE CRANES

and before long she came to an apple-tree

full of apples.

4. The apple-tree called to her, “Shake

me ! shake me ! my apples are far too ripe.”

So she shook the tree until the apples fell

like rain. She kept on shaking until there

were no apples left on the tree.

5. Then she gathered the apples into a

heap, and said to the tree, “Oh ! please,

apple-tree, can you tell me where the cranes

have flown with my little brother?”

6. “Yes,” said the tree. “Walk along by

that stream over there, until you meet an

old horse. He is so wise that he knows

everything. He is sure to be able to tell

you.”

7. So Mary ran along by the side of the

stream, until she came to the wise old horse.

“Dear old horse,” she said, “will you please

tell me where the cranes have flown with

our baby?”

8. “Yes, I will tell you,” said the kind

horse. “You must go through the hole in

that rock over there. When you reach the

other side you will see a hut. There you will find your baby brother.

9. “Oh ! thank you ! thank you !” cried Mary. She ran through the hole in the rock, and when she reached the other side she saw the queerest hut in the world. It was made of ginger-bread, and it had a roof of sugar-candy.

10. In the hut she saw an old witch; and at the window sat her little brother, playing with a golden ball. She ran to him, and

caught him in her arms. Then she rushed

back through the hole in the rock as fast as

she could go.

11. When the old witch saw what had hap-

pened, she called the cranes and sent them

after poor Mary. "If you do not bring me

back the baby for my supper," she said to

them, "I will tear you all to pieces !"

Part III

1. Mary soon saw the cranes flying after

her, so she ran on faster than ever, though

she was growing very tired.

2. In time she came again to the apple-

tree. "Hide me ! apple-tree, hide me !" she

cried, "for the cranes are chasing me !"

3. "You helped me," said the apple-tree ;

"now I will help you." Then it covered her

over with its leaves, and the cranes flew past

without seeing her.

4. After a while, the little girl crept from

under the leaves. She held the baby tightly

in her arms and ran on. But the cranes soon

saw her again, and set off in chase.

THE CRANES

11

5. It was not long before she came to the

oven. “Oh ! hide me, please hide me !” she

said, “for the cranes are flying after me.”

6. “One good turn deserves another,” said

the oven. “Climb inside and shut the door.”

Mary was not slow at climbing in, you may

be sure ; and the cranes flew past without

seeing her.

7. When she thought that she was quite

safe, she climbed out again. But the cranes

saw her very soon, and set off after her. I

really do not know what would have happened

if her house had not been quite near.

8. Those wicked cranes beat her head with

their wings. They pecked at her face, and

they even tried to tear the baby out of her

arms ; but she kept tight hold of him, and at

last she ran safely through the door of the

house.

9. At once she put the baby down on the

rug, while she closed the door and all the

windows. The cranes flew round and round,

screaming with rage ; but they could not get

in, and they had to fly away without the baby.

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THE CRANES

10. When her father and mother came back from the market, Mary told them what had happened, and they were so pleased to have their little boy back safe and sound, that they quite forgot to scold the girl.

11. But Mary never forgot the lesson that the cranes had taught her. From that day, she always did what her parents told her, and so she lived happily ever after.

Lewis Marsh

1. The evening is coming,

The sun sinks to rest,

The rooks are all flying

Straight home to the nest.

"Caw !" says the rook, as he flies overhead,

"It's time little people were going to bed !"

2. The flowers are closing ;

The daisy's asleep,

The primrose is buried

In slumber so deep.

Shut up for the night is the pimpernel red ;

It's time little people were going to bed !

3. The butterfly, drowsy,

Has folded its wing ;

The bees are returning,

No more the birds sing.

Their labour is over, their nestlings are fed ;

It's time little people were going to bed !

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14

BED-TIME

4. Here comes the pony,

His work is all done,

Down through the meadow

He takes a good run.

Up go his heels, and down goes his head;

It's time little people were going to bed.

5. Good-night, little people,

Good-night and good-night;

Sweet dreams to your eyelids

Till dawning of light;

The evening has come, there's no more to

be said;

It's time little people were going to bed!

THOMAS HOOD

SNOW-DROP

Part I

1. It was in the middle of winter, when the broad flakes of snow were falling around, that a queen sat working at a window, the frame of which was of fine ebony. As she was looking out upon the snow, she pricked her finger.

2. When she saw the drops of blood on the white snow, she said, "I wish my daughter may be as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black as ebony." So her little girl grew up with a clear, white skin, bright rosy cheeks, and hair as black as ebony, and her name was Snow-drop.

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SNOW-DROP

3. But this queen died, and the king soon married another wife, who was very beautiful, but very proud and jealous, too. She had a magic mirror, and when she said to it,

"Tell me, glass, tell me true !

Of all the ladies in the land,

Who is fairest? tell me who?"

the glass always answered,

"Thou, queen, art fairest in the land."

4. But Snow-drop grew more and more beautiful ; and when she was seven years old, she was as bright as the day, and fairer than the queen herself. Then the glass one day answered the queen, when she went to it as usual,

"Thou, queen, may'st fair and beauteous be,

But Snow-drop is lovelier far than thee !"

5. When she heard this, she turned pale with rage and envy, and called one of her servants and said. "Take Snow-drop away into the wide wood, that I may never see her more." Then the servant led her away ;

but his heart melted when she begged him to spare her life, and he said, “I will not hurt thee, thou pretty child.”

6. So he left her by herself ; and though he thought it most likely that the wild beasts would tear her in pieces, he felt as if a great weight were taken off his heart when he had made up his mind not to kill her, but to leave her to her fate.

7. Poor Snow-drop wandered along through the wood in great fear ; and the wild beasts roared about her, but none did her any harm. In the evening she came to a little cottage, and went in there to rest herself, for her little feet would carry her no farther.

8. Everything was bright and neat in the cottage : on the table was spread a white cloth, and there were seven little plates with seven little loaves, and seven little glasses with wine in them ; and knives and forks laid in order ; and by the wall stood seven little beds.

9. Then, as she was very hungry, she

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SNOW-DROP

picked a little piece off each loaf, and drank

a very little wine out of each glass; and

after that she thought she would lie down

and rest. So she tried all the little beds;

and one was too long, and another was too

short, till at last the seventh suited her.

There she laid 'herself down, and went to

sleep.

10. Presently in came the masters of the

cottage, who were seven little dwarfs that

lived among the mountains, and dug and

searched about for gold. They lighted up

their seven lamps, and saw directly that all

was not right.

11. The first said, "Who has been sitting

on my stool?" The second, "Who has been

eating off my plate?" The third, "Who

has been picking my bread?" The fourth,

"Who has been meddling with my spoon?"

The fifth, "Who has been handling my

fork?" The sixth, "Who has been cutting

with my knife?" The seventh, "Who has

been drinking my wine?"

12. Then the first looked round and said,

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SNOW-DROP

"Who has been lying on my bed?" And the

rest came running to him, and every one

cried out that somebody had been upon his

bed. But the seventh saw Snow-drop, and

called all his brethren to come and see her.

13. They cried out with wonder and

astonishment, and brought their lamps to

look at her, and said, "What a lovely child

she is!" They were delighted to see her,

and took care not to wake her; and the

seventh dwarf slept an hour with each of the

other dwarfs in turn, till the night was gone.

Part II

1. In the morning, Snow-drop told them

all her story; and they pitied her, and said

that if she would keep all things in order,

cook and wash, and knit and spin for them,

she might stay where she was, and they

would take good care of her.

2. Then they went out all day long to

their work, seeking for gold and silver in

the mountains; and Snow-drop remained at

SNOW-DROP

21

home : and they warned her, and said, “The

queen will soon find out where you are, so

take care and let no one in.”

3. But the queen, now that she thought

Snow-drop was dead, believed that she was

certainly the handsomest lady in the land ;

and she went to her glass and said,

“Tell me, glass, tell me true !

Of all the ladies in the land,

Who is fairest ? tell me who ?”

4. And the glass answered,

“Thou, queen, art the fairest in all this land;

But over the hills, in the greenwood

shade,

Where the seven dwarfs their dwelling

have made,

There Snow-drop is hiding her head ; and

she

Is lovelier far, O queen ! than thee.”

5. Then the queen was very much afraid ;

for she knew that the glass always spoke

the truth, and was sure that the servant

had betrayed her. She could not bear to think that any one lived who was more beautiful than she was; so she disguised herself as an old pedlar, and went her way over the hills to the place where the dwarfs dwelt.

6. Then she knocked at the door, and cried, "Fine wares to sell!" Snow-drop looked out at the window, and said, "Good-day, good woman; what have you to sell?" "Good wares, fine wares," said she; "laces and bobbins of all colours."

7. "I will let the old lady in; she seems to be a very good sort of body," thought Snow-drop; so she ran down, and unbolted the door.

"Bless me!" said the old woman, "how badly your stays are laced! Let me lace them up with one of my nice new laces."

8. Snow-drop did not dream of any mis-chief; so she stood up before the old woman, who set to work so nimbly, and pulled the lace so tight, that Snow-drop lost her breath, and fell down as if she were dead. "There's

SNOW-DROP

23

an end of all thy beauty," said the spiteful

queen, and went away home.

9. In the evening the seven dwarfs re-

turned ; and I need not say how grieved they

were to see their faithful Snow-drop stretched

upon the ground motionless, as if she were

quite dead.

10. However, they lifted her up, and

when they found what was the matter,

they cut the lace ; and in a little time she

began to breathe, and soon came to life

again. Then they said, "The old woman

was the queen herself ; take care another

time, and let no one in when we are away."

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SNOW-DROP

Part III

1. When the queen got home, she went straight to her glass, and spoke to it as usual; but to her great surprise it still said,

"Thou, queen, art the fairest in all this land;

But over the hills, in the greenwood shade,

Where the seven dwarfs their dwelling have made,

There Snow-drop is hiding her head; and she

Is lovelier far, O queen! than thee."

2. Then the blood ran cold in her heart with spite that Snow-drop still lived; and she dressed herself up again in a disguise, but very different from the one she wore before, and took with her a poisoned comb.

3. When she reached the dwarfs' cottage, she knocked at the door, and cried, "Fine wares to sell!" But Snow-drop said, "I dare not let any one in." Then the queen

said, "Only look at my beautiful combs;"

and gave her the poisoned one.

4. It looked so pretty that she took it up

and put it into her hair to try it ; but the

moment it touched her head the poison was

so powerful that she fell down senseless.

"There you may lie," said the queen, and

went her way.

5. But by good luck the dwarfs returned

very early that evening ; and when they

saw Snow-drop lying on the ground, they

guessed what had happened, and soon

found the poisoned comb. When they took

it away, she recovered, and told them all

that had passed ; and they warned her once

more not to open the door to any one.

6. Meantime the queen went home to her

glass, and trembled with rage when she

received exactly the same answer as before ;

and she said, "Snow-drop shall die, if it

costs me my life." So she went secretly

into a chamber, and prepared a poisoned

apple so that the outside looked very rosy

and tempting.

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SNOW-DROP

7. Then she dressed herself up as a peasant's wife, and travelled over the hills to the dwarfs' cottage, and knocked at the door ; but Snow-drop put her head out of the window and said, "I dare not let any one in, for the dwarfs have forbidden me."

8. "Do as you please," said the old woman, "but at any rate take this pretty apple ; I will make you a present of it." "No," said Snow-drop, "I dare not take it." "You silly girl !" answered the other, "what are you afraid of? do you think it is poisoned? Come ! you eat one part, and I will eat the other."

9. Now the apple was so prepared that one side was good, though the other side was poisoned. Then Snow-drop was very much tempted to taste, for the apple looked very sweet, and when she saw the old woman taste it, she could refuse no longer.

10. But she had scarcely put the piece into her mouth, when she fell down dead upon the ground. "This time nothing will

save thee," said the queen ; and she went

home to her glass, and at last it said,

"Thou, queen, art the fairest of all the fair."

And then her envious heart was as happy

as such a heart could be.

Part IV

1. When evening came, and the dwarfs

returned home, they found Snow-drop lying

on the ground : no breath passed her lips,

and they were afraid that she was quite

dead. They lifted her up, and combed her

hair, and washed her face with wine and

water ; but all was in vain ; the little girl

seemed quite dead.

2. So they laid her down upon a bier,

and all seven watched and wept for her

three whole days ; and then they proposed

to bury her. But her cheeks were still rosy,

and her face looked just as it did while she

was alive ; so they said, "We will never

bury her in the cold ground."

3. They made a coffin of glass, so that

they might still look at her, and wrote her

name upon it, in golden letters, and that

she was a king's daughter. The coffin was

placed upon the hill, and one of the dwarfs

always sat by it and watched. The birds

of the air came too, and mourned for Snow-

drop : first of all came an owl, and then a

raven, but at last came a dove.

4. Thus Snow-drop lay for a long, long

time, and still only looked as though she

were asleep ; for she was even now as white

as snow, as red as blood, and as black as

ebony.

5. At last a prince came and called at

the dwarfs' house ; and he saw Snow-drop,

and read the golden letters. Then he offered

the dwarfs money, and earnestly prayed

them to let him take her away ; but they

said, "We will not part with her for all the

gold in the world."

6. At last, however, they had pity on him,

and gave him the coffin ; but the moment

he lifted it up to carry it home with him,

the piece of apple fell from between her

29

lips, and Snow-drop awoke, and said, "Where

am I?" And the prince answered, "Thou

art safe with me."

7. Then he told her all that had happened,

and said, "I love you better than all the

world: come with me to my father's palace,

and you shall be my wife." Snow-drop

consented, and went home with the prince;

and everything was prepared with great

pomp and splendour for their wedding.

8. To the feast was invited, among the rest,

Snow-drop's old enemy the queen; and as

she was dressing herself in fine rich clothes,

she looked in the glass, and said,

"Tell me, glass, tell me true!

Of all the ladies in the land,

Who is fairest? tell me who?"

And the glass answered,

"Thou, lady, art loveliest here, I ween;

But lovelier far is the new-made queen.."

9. When she heard this, she started with

rage; but her envy and curiosity were so

SNOW-DROP

31

great, that she could not help setting out to

see the bride.

10. And when she arrived, and saw

that it was no other than Snow-drop,

who, as she thought, had been dead a long

while, she choked with passion, and fell ill

and died; but Snow-drop and the prince

lived and reigned happily over that land

many many years.

The Brothers Grimm

1. Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World,

With the wonderful water round you curled,

And the wonderful grass upon your breast,

World, you are beautifully drest.

2. The wonderful air is over me,

And the wonderful wind is shaking the tree—

It walks on the water, and whirls the mills,

And talks to itself on the top of the hills.

3. You friendly Earth, how far do you go,

With the wheat-fields that nod and the rivers that flow,

With cities and gardens, and cliffs and isles,

And people upon you for thousands of miles?

THE WONDERFUL WORLD

33

4. Ah ! you are so great, and I am so

small,

I hardly can think of you, World, at all ;

And yet when I said my prayers to-day,

My mother kissed me and said, quite gay,

5. “If the wonderful World is great to

you,

And great to Father and Mother, too,

You are more than the Earth, though you

are such a dot !

You can love and think, and the Earth

cannot!”

William Brighty Rands

C.E. II.

THE YELLOW SIXPENNY

1. "May we go out on the shore again by ourselves this afternoon, Nurse?"

"If it doesn't rain," said Nurse; and Floss, who had half an hour to wait before it was time for her to join her sisters in the school-room, went to the window to have a look at the weather. She had not stood there for more than a minute when Carrots climbed up on to a chair beside her.

2. "It's going to rain, Floss," he said; "there are the little curly clouds in the sky that Matthew says come when it rains."

Floss looked up at the sky and down at the sea.

"The sea looks cross to-day," she said.

There were no pretty ripples this morning; the water looked dull and leaden.

3. "Floss," said Carrots, with a sigh, "I do get so tired when you are at lessons all the morning and I have nucken to do. Can't you think of a plan for me to have some-

THE YELLOW SIXPENNY

35

thing to do?

Carrots’ head was running

on “plans.”

Floss considered.

“Would you like to tidy my drawer for

me?” she said. “This isn’t the regular day

for tidying it, but it is in a mess, because I

turned all the things upside down when

I was looking for our racehorses’ reins

yesterday. Will you put it quite tidy,

Carrots?”

“Oh, yes, quite, dear Floss,” said Carrots.

“I’ll put all the dolls neat, and all the

pieces, and all the sewing things. Oh, dear

Floss, what nice plans you make.”

4. So when Floss had gone to her lessons,

and Nurse was busy with her morning duties,

in and out of the room, so as not to lose

sight of Carrots, but still too busy to amuse

him, he, with great delight, set to work at

the drawer. It certainly was much in need

of “tidying,” and after trying several ways,

Carrots found that the best plan was to take

everything out, and then put the different

things back again in order.

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THE YELLOW SIXPENNY

5. It took him a good while, and his face got rather red with stooping down to the floor to pick up all the things he had deposited there, for the drawer itself was too heavy for him to lift out bodily, if, indeed, such an idea had occurred to him.

6. It was the middle drawer of the cupboard, the top part of which was divided into shelves where the nursery cups and saucers and those sorts of things stood. The drawer above Floss's was Nurse's, where she kept her work, and a few books, and a little notepaper and so on ; and the drawer at the bottom, so that he could easily reach it, was Carrots' own.

7. One end of Floss's drawer was given up to her dolls. She still had a good many, for though she did not care for them now as much as she used, she never could be persuaded to throw any of them away. But they were not very pretty ; even Carrots could see that, and Carrots, to tell the truth, was very fond of dolls.

8. "If I had some money," he said to him-

self, “I would buy Floss such a most beautiful doll. I wish I had some money.”

He sat down on a little stool with one of the unhappiest looking of the dolls in his arms.

“I wish I could buy you a new face, poor dolly,” he said. “I wish I had some money”

9. He got up again to put poor dolly back into her corner. As he was smoothing down the paper which lined the drawer, he felt something hard close to dolly's foot. He pushed away the dolls to see—there, almost

37

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THE YELLOW SIXPENNY

hidden by a crumple in the paper, lay a tiny

little piece of money—a little shining piece,

about the size of a sixpence, only a different

colour.

10. “A yellow sixpenny, oh, how nice ! ”

thought Carrots, as he seized it. “I wonder

if Floss knew it was there. It would just

do to buy a new doll. I wish I could go to

the toy-shop to buy one to surprise Floss.

I won’t tell Floss I’ve found it. I’ll keep it

for a secret, and some day I’ll buy Floss a

new doll. I’m sure Floss doesn’t know—I

think the fairies must have put it there.”

11. He wrapped the piece of money up

carefully in a bit of paper, and after consider-

ing where he could best hide it, so that Floss

should not know till it was time to surprise

her, he fixed on a beautiful place. He hid it

under one of the little round saucers in his

paint-box—a very old paint-box it was, but

all the same Carrots considered it one of his

greatest treasures.

12. When Nurse came into the room, she

found the tidying of the drawer completed,

THE YELLOW SIXPENNY

39

and Carrots sitting quietly by the window.

He did not tell her about the money he had

found ; it never entered into his little head

that he should speak of it.

13. He had got into the way of not telling

all the little things that happened to him to

any one but Floss, for he was naturally a very

quiet child, and Nurse was getting too old

to care about all the tiny interests of her

children as she once had done. Besides, he

had determined to keep it a secret, even from

Floss, till he could buy a new doll with it.

Mrs. Molesworth

1. A health to good old Santa Claus,

And to his reindeer bold,

Whose hoofs are shod with eider-down,

Whose horns are tipped with gold!

2. He comes from utmost fairyland

Across the wintry snows;

He makes the fir-tree and the spruce

To blossom like the rose.

3. Over the quaint old gables,

Over the windy ridge,

By turret wall and chimney tall,

He guides his fairy sledge;

4. He steals upon the slumbers

Of little, rose-lipped girls,

And lays his waxen dollies down

Beside their golden curls.

SANTA CLAUS

5. He scatters blessings on his way,

And sugar-coated plums;

He robs the sluggard of his rest

With trumpets, guns, and drums.

6. Small feet before the dawn of day

Are marching to and fro;

Drums beat to arms all through the house,

And penny trumpets blow.

7. A health to brave old Santa Claus,

And to his reindeer bold,

Whose hoofs are shod with eider-down,

Whose horns are tipped with gold!

8. Ring out, ring out, sweet Christmas bells!

Ring loud and silver-clear!

Ring, "Peace on earth; good-will to man,"

Till all the world shall hear.

Sarah Whitman

THE GIANT'S HEART

A FAIRY TALE FROM NORWAY

PART I

1. Across the sea from Scotland, there is a country very like it, called Norway. It is much wilder than Scotland, and colder in the winter. Most of the people dwell around the coast, and make a living by fishing and farming.

2. There is nothing inland but wild pine-woods and great, rocky mountains, covered with snow. It is said that giants used to dwell inside the rocks. There are many tales of these giants. Perhaps you would like to read one.

3. Once upon a time, there lived in Norway a king who had seven sons. When they were grown up, six of them set off to find brides, but the youngest stayed at home.

4. The six princes went to many palaces and saw many princesses. At last they came to a king who had six daughters. They had never seen such lovely young women,

so they married them, and set off for home again.

5. When they had gone a long way, they passed by a rocky hill, in which a giant lived. The giant came out and saw them, and turned them all to stone, princes and princesses alike.

6. Their father waited and waited for his six sons, but they did not come back. At last, Cinder-lad, the youngest son, asked if he might go and look for his brothers.

7. "No, no," said his father, "I cannot let you go ; for then you would stay away too."

8. But Cinder-lad had made up his mind : he begged and prayed so long that the king was forced to let him go.

9. The boy set off, riding on a broken-down old horse. You see his brothers had taken all the best horses, so he had to take what he could get. When he had ridden for some time, he met a wolf. The wolf was so hungry that it could not stand.

10. "Dear friend," said the wolf, "do give

me your horse to eat. I have had nothing to eat for two years. I have grown so lean that the wind blows through my ribs.

11. "If I give you my horse," said Cinder-lad, "I shall have nothing to ride on."

"You can ride on my back," said the wolf, "and I will help you, when you are in need."

"Well," said Cinder-lad, "since you are so hungry, you may take my horse."

44

THE GIANT'S HEART

45

PART II

1. When the wolf had eaten the horse,

Cinder-lad mounted on its back. The wolf

was so strong, after its good meal, that it

set off with the prince as if he were nothing.

The prince had never ridden so fast before.

2. As they went along, Cinder-lad told it

his story, and asked if it knew what had

become of his six brothers. "Yes," said

the wolf, "they and their six brides have

been turned into stone by a giant. When

we have gone a little farther, I will show

them to you."

3. After a while, they came to a rocky hill.

"Here is the giant's house," said the wolf,

"and here are your six brothers and their

brides turned into stone. Do not be afraid.

Go through the door, and you will find a

princess inside. She will tell you what to

do to make an end of the giant."

4. Cinder-lad went in, feeling very much

afraid. I daresay that you would have felt

the same in his place. When he came in,

46

THE GIANT'S HEART

he found that the giant was away. In one

of the rooms sat the princess, and so lovely

a princess he had never set eyes on.

5. “Oh, heaven help you!” she said.

“Where have you come from? It will

surely be your death. No one can make an

end of the giant who lives here, for he has

no heart in his body.” Then she hid the

prince under the bed.

6. Presently the giant came home, and

the princess gave him his supper. After he

had eaten, he was in a very good temper,

so the princess said to him, “There is one

thing I should like to ask you, if only I

dared.”

7. “What thing is that?” asked the giant.

“Only where it is you keep your heart,”

said the princess.

8. “Ah!” said the giant, “that is a thing

you have no right to ask about; but if you

must know, it lies in that cupboard over

there.” Then he gave a great laugh and

went to bed.

9. Next morning, the giant went out early,

and strode off into the woods. You may be sure that it was not long before Cinder-lad and his princess were in the cupboard, hunting for the heart. But though they looked for it a long time, they could not find it.

10. “He did not tell us the truth that time,” said the princess, “but we will try him once more.” So she picked all the prettiest flowers she could find, and strewed them around the cupboard.

Part III

1. When the time came for the giant to return home again, Cinder-lad crept under the bed. Just as he was well under, in came the giant. He soon noticed the flowers around the cupboard, so he asked who it was that had put them there.

2. “Oh !” said the princess, “I am so fond of you, that I could not help doing it, when I knew that your heart lay there.” “Nonsense !” said the giant, “my heart

48

THE GIANT'S HEART

does not lie there. You will never know where it is."

3. But the princess begged so prettily, that the giant could hold out no longer, and was forced to say, "Far, far away in a lake lies an island; on that island stands a church; in that church is a well; in that well swims a duck; in that duck there is an egg; and in that egg lies my heart."

4. Early in the morning, the giant strode off again into the woods. Then Cinder-lad said good-bye to the princess, and went off to find the giant's heart. When he got outside the door, there stood the wolf waiting for him.

5. The prince told it all that had happened, and asked it if it knew the way to the well in the church. The wolf told him to jump on its back, and he would soon find the way. Off they went, over hedges and fields, over hill and dale.

6. At last they came to the lake, and the wolf swam to the island, with the prince on its back. They found the church on the

island, and soon came to the well. There lay the duck, just as the giant had said.

7. Cinder-lad grasped the duck in one hand. Just as he lifted it from the water, the duck dropped the egg. It was lucky for the prince that he was able to catch the egg before it fell into the well. Then the wolf told him to press the egg. As soon as he did so, he heard the giant crying out with pain.

8. "Spare my life," cried the giant, "and I will do all that you wish." Then the wolf said to Cinder-lad, "Tell him to bring

C.E. II. 49 D

50

THE GIANT'S HEART

back to life your six brothers and their

brides, whom he turned into stone."

9. The giant did so at once. "Now," said

the wolf, "press the egg in two." Cinder-

lad pressed the egg in two, and the giant

burst to pieces. Then the prince rode back

on the wolf to the giant's house.

10. There stood his six brothers and their

brides, all alive and merry. So Cinder-lad

fetched out the princess, who was to be his

own bride. They all set off home again to

their father's house.

11. You may fancy how glad the old king

was when he saw them. He made a great

feast ; and if they have not done feasting,

why, they are feasting still.

Lewis Marsh

1. Good-bye, good-bye to Summer!

For Summer's nearly done;

The garden smiling faintly,

Cool breezes in the sun;

Our Thrushes now are silent,

Our Swallows flown away—

But Robin's here, in coat of brown,

With ruddy breast-knot gay.

Robin, Robin Redbreast,

O Robin dear!

Robin singing sweetly

In the falling of the year.

2. Bright yellow, red, and orange,

The leaves come down in hosts;

52

ROBIN REDBREAST

The trees are Indian Princes,

But soon they'll turn to Ghosts;

The scanty pears and apples

Hang russet on the bough,

It's Autumn, Autumn, Autumn late,

'Twill soon be winter now.

Robin, Robin Redbreast,

O Robin dear!

And welaway! my Robin,

For pinching times are near.

3. The fireside for the Cricket,

The wheatstack for the Mouse,

When trembling night-winds whistle

And moan all round the house;

The frosty ways like iron,

The branches plumed with snow—

Alas! in Winter, dead and dark,

Where can poor Robin go?

Robin, Robin Redbreast,

O Robin dear!

And a crumb of bread for Robin

His little heart to cheer.

William Allingham

THE THREE CHILDREN OF FORTUNE

Part I

1. Once upon a time, a father sent for his three sons, and gave to the eldest a cock, to the second a scythe, and to the third a cat.

2. "I am now old," said he, "my end is approaching, and I would fain provide for you before I die. Money I have none, and what I now give you seems of but little worth ; yet it rests with yourselves alone to turn my gifts to good account. Only seek

53

54 THREE CHILDREN OF FORTUNE

out for a land where what you have is as yet unknown, and your fortune is made."

3. After the death of the father, the eldest set out with his cock ; but wherever he went, in every town he saw from afar off a cock sitting upon the church steeple, and turning round with the wind. In the villages he always heard plenty of them crowing, and his bird was therefore nothing new ; so there did not seem much chance of his making his fortune.

4. At length it happened that he came to an island, where the people who lived there had never heard of a cock, and knew not even how to reckon the time. They knew, indeed, if it was morning or evening ; but at night, if they lay awake, they had no means of knowing how time went.

5. "Behold," said he to them, "what a noble animal this is! how like a knight he is! he carries a bright red crest upon his head, and spurs upon his heels. He crows three times every night, at stated hours, and at the third time the sun is

about to rise. But this is not all ; some-

times he screams in broad daylight, and then

you must take warning, for the weather is

surely about to change."

6. This pleased the natives mightily ; they

kept awake one whole night, and heard, to

their great joy, how gloriously the cock called

the hour, at two, four, and six o'clock. Then

they asked him whether the bird was to be

sold, and how much he would sell it for.

"About as much gold as an ass can carry,"

said he. "A very fair price for such an

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56 THREE CHILDREN OF FORTUNE

animal," cried they with one voice; and agreed to give him what he asked.

7. When he returned home with his wealth, his brothers wondered greatly; and the second said, "I will now set forth likewise, and see if I can turn my scythe to as good an account." There did not seem, however, much likelihood of this; for go where he would, he was met by peasants who had as good a scythe on their shoulders as he had.

8. But at last, as good luck would have it, he came to an island where the people had never heard of a scythe. There, as soon as the corn was ripe, they went into the fields and pulled it up; but this was very hard work, and a great deal of it was lost.

9. The man then set to work with his scythe, and mowed down their whole crop so quickly that the people stood staring open-mouthed with wonder. They were willing to give him what he asked for such a marvellous thing; but he only took a horse laden with as much gold as it could carry.

THREE CHILDREN OF FORTUNE 57

Part II

1. Now the third brother had a great longing to go and see what he could make of his cat. So he set out: and at first it happened to him as it had to the others; so long as he kept upon the mainland, he met with no success. There were plenty of cats everywhere, indeed too many, so that the young ones were for the most part, as soon as they came into the world, drowned in the water.

2. At last he passed over to an island, where, as it chanced most luckily for him, nobody had ever seen a cat; and they were overrun with mice to such a degree, that the little wretches danced upon the tables and chairs, whether the master of the house were at home or not. The people complained loudly of this grievance; the king himself knew not how to rid his palace of them. In every corner mice were squeaking, and they gnawed everything that their teeth could lay hold of.

3. Here was a fine field for Puss—she soon

58 THREE CHILDREN OF FORTUNE

began her chase, and had cleared two rooms

in the twinkling of an eye. So the people

besought their king to buy the wonderful

animal, for the good of the public, at any

price. The king willingly gave what was

asked—a mule laden with gold and jewels;

and thus the third brother returned home

with a richer prize than either of the others.

4. Meantime the cat feasted away upon the

mice in the royal palace, and devoured so

many, that they were no longer in any great

numbers. At length, quite spent and tired

with her work, she became extremely

thirsty; so she stood still, drew up her

head, and cried, "Meow! Meow!" The king

gathered together all his subjects when

they heard this strange cry, and many ran

shrieking in a great fright out of the palace.

5. But the king held a council as to

what was best to be done; and it was at

length fixed to send a herald to the cat,

to warn her to leave the castle forthwith,

or that force would be used to remove her.

"For," said the counsellors, "we would

THREE CHILDREN OF FORTUNE 59

far more willingly put up with the mice

(since we are used to that evil), than get

rid of them at the risk of our lives."

6. A page accordingly went, and asked

the cat whether she were willing to quit the

castle. But Puss, whose thirst became

every moment more and more pressing,

answered nothing but “Meow! Meow!”

which the page interpreted to mean “No!

No!” and therefore carried this answer to

the king. “Well,” said the counsellors,

“then we must try what force will do.”

7. So the guns were planted, and the palace

was fired upon from all sides. When the

fire reached the room where the cat was,

she sprang out of the window and ran

away; but the besiegers did not see her,

and went on firing until the whole palace

was burnt to the ground.

The Brothers Grimm

Dutch Lullaby

1. Wynken, Blynken and Nod one night

Sailed off in a wooden shoe—

Sailed on a river of misty light

Into a sea of dew.

"Where are you going, and what do you

wish?"

The old moon asked the three.

"We have come to fish for the herring-fish

That live in this beautiful sea;

Nets of silver and gold have we,"

Said Wynken,

Blynken

And Nod.

2. The old moon laughed and sang a song,

As they rocked in the wooden shoe,

And the wind that sped them all night

long

Ruffled the waves of dew;

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DUTCH LULLABY

61

The little stars were the herring-fish

That lived in the beautiful sea.

"Now cast your nets wherever you wish,

But never afeared are we!"

So cried the stars to the fishermen three;

Wynken,

Blynken,

And Nod.

3. All night long their nets they threw

For the fish in the twinkling foam;

Then down from the sky came the wooden

shoe,

Bringing the fishermen home;

'Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed

As if it could not be;

And some folk thought 'twas a dream they

dreamed

Of sailing that beautiful sea;

But I shall name you the fishermen

three;

Wynken,

Blynken,

And Nod.

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DUTCH LULLABY

4. Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,

And Nod is a little head,

And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies

Is a wee one's trundle-bed.

So shut your eyes while mother sings

Of wonderful sights that be,

And you shall see the beautiful things

As you rock on the misty sea

Where the old sea rocked the fishermen

three;

Wynken,

Blynken,

And Nod.

Eugene Field

THE STEEPLE TRAP

Part I

THE WAY TO CATCH A SQUIRREL

1. Rollo and his cousin James were at work together making a wigwam in the woods by the brook, when suddenly Jonas, who was in the woods at a little distance, heard them both calling to him, in tones of surprise and pleasure,

"Oh, Jonas, Jonas, come here quick— quick !"

Jonas dropped his axe and ran.

2. When he got near them, they pointed to a log.

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THE STEEPLE TRAP

"See there ;—see ;—see there."

"What is it?" said Jonas. "Oh, I see it," said he.

3. It was a little squirrel clambering up a raspberry-bush, eating the raspberries as he went along. He would climb up by the little branches, and pull in the raspberries as he went up, until he got to the topmost one, when the bush would bend over with his weight until it almost touched the log.

"Let us catch him," said Rollo, very eagerly ; "do let us catch him ; I will go and get our steeple trap."

4. Jonas did not seem to be so very much delighted as the boys were. He said the squirrel was certainly a cunning little fellow, but what should we do with him if we should catch him?

"Oh," said Rollo, "we would put him in a little cage. It would be splendid to have him in a cage! Do, Jonas, do."

"But you have no cage."

"We can get one," said James. "We can buy one with our half-dollars."

THE STEEPLE TRAP

5. “Well,” said Jonas, “ it will do no good to set the trap now, for he will be away before we could get back. But I will come down to-night and set the trap, and perhaps we shall catch him, though I do not exactly like to do it.”

“Why ?” said the boys.

“Oh,” replied Jonas, “he will not like to be shut up all night in a dark box, and then be imprisoned in a cage. He would rather run about here and gather raspberries. Besides, you would soon get tired of him if you had him in a cage.”

6. “Oh, no,” said Rollo. “I should not get tired of him.”

“Did you ever have any plaything that you were not tired of before long ?”

“Why,—no,” said Rollo ; “but then a real live squirrel is a different thing. Besides, you know, if I get tired of him, I need not play with him then.”

7. “ No, but a real live thing must be fed every day, and that you would find a great trouble. And then you would sometimes

C.E. II.

66

THE STEEPLE TRAP

forget it, and the poor fellow would be half starved.

"Oh, no," said Rollo; "I am sure I should not forget it."

"Did you remember your reading-lesson this morning?"

"Why,—no," said Rollo, looking a little confused. "But I am sure I should not forget to feed a squirrel if I had one."

8. "You don't know as much as I thought you did," replied Jonas.

"Why?"

"I thought you knew more about yourself than to suppose you could be trusted to do anything regularly every day. Why, you would not remember to wash your own face every morning, if your mother did not re- mind you. The squirrel is almost as fit to take care of you in your wigwam, as you are to take care of him in a cage."

9. Rollo felt a little ashamed of his boast- ing, for he knew that what Jonas said was true. Jonas said at last,

"However, we will try to catch him; but

THE STEEPLE TRAP

67

I cannot promise that I shall let you keep him in a cage. It will be bad enough for him to be shut up all night in the box trap, but I can pay him for that the next day in corn.

10. So Jonas brought down the box trap that night. It was a long box, about as big as a small stool, with a tall, pointed back, which looked like a steeple ; so Rollo called it the steeple trap. It was so made that if the squirrel should enter, and begin to nibble some corn, which they were going to place there, it would make the cover come down and shut him in.

11. They fixed the trap on the end of the log, and Jonas observed, as he sat on the log, that he could see the barn window through a little opening among the trees. Of course he knew that from the window he could see the trap, though it would be too far off to see it plainly.

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THE STEEPLE TRAP

Part II

THE WAY TO LOSE A SQUIRREL

1. Early the next morning, James came over to learn whether they had caught the squirrel ; and he and Rollo wanted Jonas to go down with them and see. Jonas said he could not go down then very well, but if Rollo would go and ask his father to lend him his spy-glass, he could tell without going down.

2. Now Jonas had been a very faithful and obedient boy, ever since he came to live with Rollo's father. He had some great faults when he first came, but he had cured himself of them, and he was now an excellent and trustworthy boy.

3. It was a part of his business to take care of Rollo, and they always let him have what he asked for from the house, as they knew it was for some good purpose, and that it would be well taken care of. So when Rollo went in and asked for the spy-glass,

and said that Jonas wanted it, they handed it down to him at once.

Jonas took the glass, and they all three went up into the barn chamber.

4. Jonas opened the glass, and held it up to his eye. The boys stood by looking on silently. At length, Jonas said,

"No, we have not caught him."

"How do you know?" said the boys.

"Oh, I can see the trap, and it is not sprung."

"Is not sprung?" said James; "what do you mean by sprung?"

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THE STEEPLE TRAP

"Shut. It is not shut. I can see it open,

and of course the squirrel is not there."

"Oh, he may be in," said Rollo, "just

nibbling the corn. Do let us go and see."

5. Jonas smiled, and said he could not go

then, but he would look through the spy-glass

again towards noon. He then gave the glass

to Rollo, and it was carried back safely into

the house.

6. James soon after went home, and Rollo

sat down in the parlour to his reading. After-

wards he came out, and started building

cities in a sandy corner of the garden. He

was making Rome,—for his father had told

him that Rome was built on seven hills,

and he liked to make the seven hills in the

sand.

7. He made a long channel for an aque-

duct, and went into the house to get a bucket

of water to fill his aqueduct, when he met

James returning. So they went in, and got

the spy-glass, and asked Jonas to go up

and look again.

8. Jonas held the glass up to his eye,

THE STEEPLE TRAP

71

and looked some time in silence, and then said,

"Yes, it is sprung, I believe. Yes, it is certainly sprung."

"Oh, then we have caught him," said the boys, capering about. "Let us go and see."

"Perhaps we have caught him," said Jonas, "but it is not certain ; sometimes the trap gets sprung by accident. However, you may go and ask your father if he thinks it worth while for me to leave my work long enough to go down and see."

PART III

1. Rollo got leave from his father, so they all set off ; Rollo and James running on eagerly before.

2. When they came to the trap, they found it shut. Jonas took it up, and tipped it one way and the other, and listened. He heard something moving in it, but did not know whether it was anything more than the corn. Then he said he would open the trap a very little, and let Rollo peep in.

72

THE STEEPLE TRAP

3. He did so. Rollo said it looked all dark; he could not see anything. Then Jonas opened it a little farther, and Rollo saw two little shining eyes, and presently a nose smelling along at the crack.

"Yes, here he is, here he is," said Rollo; "look at him, James, look at him ;—see, see."

They all peeped at him, and then Jonas took the box under his arm, and they returned home.

4. Jonas told the boys he was not willing to keep the squirrel a prisoner very long, but he would try to find out some way by which they might look at him. Now there was, in the garret, a small fender, which had been laid aside as old and useless. Jonas recollected this, and thought he could fix up a temporary cage with it.

5. So he took a small box, which he found in the barn, and laid it down with the open side towards the trap, and then moved the trap close up to it. He then covered up all the rest of the open part of the box with shingles, and asked James and Rollo to hold

them on. Then he carefully lifted up the

cover of the trap, and made a rattling in the

back part of it with the spindle. This drove

the squirrel through out of the trap into

the box.

6. When Jonas was sure that he was in,

he took the old fender and slid it down very

carefully between the trap and the box, so

as to cover the open part entirely, and make

a sort of grated front, like a cage. Then he

took the trap away, and there the little nut-

cracker was, safely shut up, but yet fairly

open to view.

7. That is, they thought he was safely im-

prisoned ; but he, little rogue, had no idea

of submitting without giving his bolts and

bars a try. At first he crept along, with his

tail curled over his back, in a corner, and

looked at the strange faces that surrounded

him.

8. "Let us give him a little corn," said

Rollo; "perhaps he is hungry." He was

just slipping some kernels in between the

wires of the fender, when Bunny sprang

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THE STEEPLE TRAP

forward, and, with a jump and a squeeze, forced his slender body between two of the wires that were bent a little apart, leaped down upon the barn floor, ran along to the corner, up the post, and then crept gently along on a beam. Presently he stopped, and looked down, as if wondering what to do next.

9. The moment he escaped, the boys exclaimed, "Oh, catch him, catch him!" and were going to run after him; but Jonas said that it would do no good, for they could not catch him again now, and had better stand still and see what he would do.

10. He soon began to run along on the beam; thence he climbed to the scaffold, and made his way towards an open window. He jumped up to the window-sill, and then disappeared. The boys all ran around, outside, and were just in time to catch a glimpse of him, running along on the top of the fence, down towards the woods again.

11. "Do let us run after him and catch him," said Rollo.

75

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THE STEEPLE TRAP

"Catch him !" said Jonas, with a laugh,

"you might as well chase the wind. No,

the only way is to set our trap for him

again. I meant to let him go, myself; but

he is not going to slip through our fingers

in that way, I tell him." So Jonas went

down that night and set the trap again.

12. For several days after this, the trap

remained unsprung, and the boys began to

think that they would never see him again.

At last, however, one day, when Rollo was

playing in the yard, he saw Jonas coming

up out of the woods with the trap under

his arm. Rollo ran to meet him, and was

delighted to find that the squirrel was

caught again.

THE STEEPLE TRAP

77

PART IV

HOW TO KEEP A SQUIRREL

1. Jonas managed to tighten the wires

of the fender, by weaving in other wires so

as to secure the little prisoner this time.

When he was fairly in his temporary cage,

the boys were so pleased with his graceful

form and beautiful colours, and with the

stripes on his back, that they begged hard

to keep him ; and they made many earnest

promises never to forget to feed him.

2. Jonas said, at last,

"On the whole, I believe I will let you

keep him, but you must do it in my way."

"What is your way ?"

"Why, after a day or two, we must carry

him back to his raspberry-bush, and let him

go. But you may give him a name, and

call him yours, and you can carry some corn

down there now and then, to feed him with—

and then you will see him sometimes

playing about there."

3. James and Rollo did not exactly like

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THE STEEPLE TRAP

this plan at first, but when they considered

how much better the little squirrel himself

would like it, they agreed with it. Rollo

proposed that they should tie a string

round his neck for a collar, so that they might

know him again.

4. "I can get Mother to let me have a

little pink ribbon," said he, "and that will

be beautiful."

"It would be a good plan," said Jonas,

"to mark him in some way, but he might

gnaw off the ribbon."

"Oh, no," said James, "he could not gnaw

anything on his own neck. Rollo thought

so too, and they both tried to bite their own

collar ribbons, so as to show Jonas how

impossible it was.

5. "I don't know exactly how much a

squirrel can gnaw," said Jonas. "Perhaps

he might tear it off with his claws."

"Or he might get another squirrel to

gnaw it off for him," said James.

"Yes," said Jonas, "and there is another

difficulty. He might be jumping from one

THE STEEPLE TRAP

79

tree to another, and catch his collar in some

little branch, and so get hanged without

judge or jury.

6. "What can we do, then?" said Rollo.

"I think," said Jonas, "that the best

plan would be to dye the end of his tail

black. That would not hurt him at all; and

yet, as he always holds his tail up, we should

see it, and know him."

7. The boys both thought this would be

excellent, and Jonas said he had some black

dye, which he had made for dyeing some

wood. Jonas was a very clever boy, and

used to make little boxes, and frames, and

wind-mills, with his penknife, in the long

winter evenings, and he had made this dye

out of vinegar and old nails, to dye some of

his wood with.

8. "I am not certain," said Jonas, "that

my dye will colour hair; I never tried it,

except on wood. Do you think that black

would be a pretty colour?"

"No," said Rollo, "black would not be a

very pretty colour, but it would do. Yellow,

80

THE STEEPLE TRAP

and red, and green are pretty colours, but black, and brown, and white are not pretty at all.

"I have not any yellow, or red, or green," said Jonas. "I don't know but that I have a little blue."

"Oh, blue would be beautiful," said James.

9. Then Jonas walked along into the barn, and Rollo and James followed him. He went up-stairs, and walked along to the farthest corner, and there, up on a beam, were several small bottles all in a row. Jonas took down one, and shook it, and said that was the blue.

10. He brought it down to the cage ; Rollo went into the house, and brought out an old bowl, and Jonas prepared to pour out the dye into it. They then made up their minds to carry the whole apparatus down to the edge of the woods, and perform the operation there ; and then the squirrel, when he was set free, would easily find his way back to his home. Jonas carried down a

THE STEEPLE TRAP

81

pair of thick, old gloves, to keep the squirrel

from biting him.

Part V

1. As they walked along, Rollo proposed

that Jonas should dip the squirrel's ears in as

well as his tail ; "because," said he, "we may

sometimes see him when he is half hid in

the bushes, so that only his head is in sight."

"Besides," said James, "it will make him

look more beautiful if his ears and tail are

both blue."

2. Jonas did not object to this, and after

a short time they reached the edge of the

woods. They found a little opening, where

the ground was smooth and the grass green,

which seemed exactly the place for them.

So they put down the cage and the bowl of

dye, and Jonas began to put on his glove.

"Now, boys," said he, "you must be still

as moonlight while I do it. If you speak to

me, you will put me out; and besides, you

will frighten little Bunny."

C.E. II.

3. The boys promised not to speak a single word; and Jonas, after unfastening the fender from the front of the box, moved it along until there was an opening large enough for him to get his hand in. Rollo and James stood by, silently, and somewhat anxiously, waiting the result.

4. When the squirrel saw Jonas's hand stealing into the box, he retreated to the farther corner, and curled himself up there, with his tail close down upon his back. Jonas followed him with his hand, saying, in a soothing tone:

82

THE STEEPLE TRAP

83

"Bunny, Bunny, poor little Bunny."

He reached him at length, and put his

hand very gently over him, and slowly and

cautiously drew him out.

5. Rollo and James gave a sort of excited

laugh and instantly clapped their hands to

their mouths, to stop it ; but they looked

at one another and at Jonas with great

delight.

6. Jonas bit by bit brought the squirrel

over the bowl, and prepared to dip his ears

into the dye. It was a strange place for

a squirrel to be in, and he did not like it at

all; and just at the instant when his ears

were going into the dye, he twisted his head

round, and planted his little fore teeth

directly upon Jonas's thumb.

7. As might have been supposed, teeth

which were sharp and powerful enough to

go through a walnut shell, would not be

likely to be stopped by a leathern glove;

and Jonas, startled by the sudden cut, gave

a twitch with his hand, and at the same

instant, let go of the squirrel. Bunny

grasped the edge of the bowl with his

paws, and leaped out, bringing the bowl

itself at the same instant over upon him,

spattering him all over from head to tail

with the blue dye.

8. The boys looked blank for a minute,

but when they saw him racing off as fast as

possible, and running up a neighbouring

tree, Jonas burst into a laugh, in which the

other boys joined, and they continued it

loud and long, till the woods rang again.

"Well, we have spotted him, at any rate,"

said Jonas. "We will call him Leopard."

9. The boys then looked at Jonas's bite,

and found that it was not a very serious one.

In fact, Jonas was a little ashamed at having

let go for so small a wound. However, it

was then too late to regret it, and the boys

returned slowly home.

10. As they were walking home, James

said that the squirrel's back looked wet,

where the dye went upon him, but he did

not think it looked very blue.

"No," said Jonas, "it does not generally

THE STEEPLE TRAP

85

look blue at first, but it grows blue afterwards. It will be a bright colour enough before you see him again, I am sure."

11. So they walked along home ; the fender was put back in its place in the garret, the bowl in the house, and the box in the barn.

Jonas soon forgot that he had been bitten, and the squirrel, as soon as his back was dry, thought no more of the whole affair, but turned his attention entirely to the business of digging a hole to store his nuts in for the ensuing winter.

Jacob Abbott

DAVE DUCKS FIRST LECTURE ON EDUCATION

1. Old Mother Duck has hatched a brood Of ducklings, small and callow ; Their little wings are short, their down Is mottled grey and yellow.

2. There is a quiet little stream That runs into the moat, Where tall green sedges spread their leaves, And water-lilies float.

3. Close by the margin of the brook The old duck made her nest, Of straw, and leaves, and withered grass, And down from her own breast.

DAME DUCK'S FIRST LECTURE 87

4. And then she sat for four long weeks

In rainy days and fine,

Until the ducklings all came out—

Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

5. One peered out from beneath her wing,

One scrambled on her back;

"That's very rude," said old Dame Duck;

"Get off! quack, quack, quack, quack!"

6. "'Tis close," said Dame Duck, shoving out

The egg-shells with her bill;

"Besides, it never suits young ducks

To keep them sitting still."

7. So, rising from her nest, she said,

"Now, children, look at me;

A well-bred duck should waddle so,

From side to side—d'ye see?"

88 DAME DUCK'S FIRST LECTURE

8. "Yes," said the little ones, and then

She went on to explain :

"A well-bred duck turns in its toes

As I do—try again."

9. "Yes," said the ducklings, waddling on :

"That's better," said their mother ;

"But well-bred ducks walk in a row,

Straight—one behind another."

10. "Yes," said the little ducks again,

All waddling in a row ;

"Now to the pond," said old Dame

Duck—

Splash, splash, and in they go.

11. "Let me swim first," said old Dame

Duck,

"To this side, now to that ;

There, snap at those great brown-

winged flies,

They make young ducklings fat.

DAME DUCK'S FIRST LECTURE 89

12. "Now, when you reach the poultry-yard,

The hen-wife, Molly Head,

Will feed you, with the other fowls,

On bran and mashed-up bread.

13. "The hens will peck and fight, but mind,

I hope that all of you

Will gobble up the food as fast

As well-bred ducks should do.

14. "You'd better get into the dish,

Unless it is too small;

In that case, I should use my foot,

And overturn it all."

15. The ducklings did as they were bid,

And found the plan so good

That, from that day, the other fowls

Got hardly any food.

"Aunt Effie"

THE FOX AND THE CROW

1. A crow, which had stolen a large piece of cheese, flew on to a low branch to eat it. She had just settled herself comfortably, when a fox, which had noticed her and her prize, sat down right underneath, and began to praise her beauty.

2. He told her that her plumage was of a more delicate white than anything he had ever seen in his life, and that her shape was perfection. "You beautiful creature," said he, "if only your voice is as charming as your appearance, I shall think you the most delightful of all the birds."

THE FOX AND THE CROW

91

3. The crow, greatly pleased and highly excited with this flattery, began to fidget and wriggle on the branch, and at last decided to set the fox's doubts at rest, and so win still higher praise.

4. But as soon as she opened her beak, the cheese fell out and dropped to the ground, where it was immediately snapped up by the cunning fox, who had thus gained by craft what he could not have won by force.

Æsop

MARCH

The cock is crowing,

The stream is flowing,

The small birds twitter,

The lake doth glitter,

The green field sleeps in the sun;

The oldest and youngest

Are at work with the strongest;

The cattle are grazing,

Their heads never raising;

There are forty feeding like one.

Like an army defeated

The snow hath retreated,

And now doth fare ill

On the top of the bare hill;

The ploughboy is whooping—anon—anon!

There's joy on the mountains;

There's life in the fountains;

Small clouds are sailing,

Blue sky prevailing;

The rain is over and gone.

William Wordsworth

A LOBSTER QUADRILLE

1. "Will you walk a little faster?" said a whiting to a snail,

"There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail.

See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!

They are waiting on the shingle—will you come and join the dance?

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?

93

2. "You can have no notion how delightful it will be

When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!"

But the snail replied, "Too far, too far !" and gave a look askance—

Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance.

Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance.

Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance.

94

3. "What matters it how far we go?" his scaly friend replied,

"There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.

The further off from England the nearer is to France—

Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?"

Lewis Carroll

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The second book will continue the work of the first. There will be need still of lessons in the pure technique of reading. Already the child will have learnt to read in sentences instead of in words, if the first year's work has been well done: and this will prepare the way for a good advance during the second year in reading and in composition. Now comes the time for the introduction of colour, of light and shade, into the reading-lesson. The importance of accent and emphasis should be insisted on from the very beginning. Illustrate particularly from the children's own conversation. Show them how they lay "stress" on a word, or make it stand out in importance above the other words. Or, in a more vivid way, take a sentence they will all know :

The Lion beat the Unicorn.

They will tell you at once the three important words in the sentence; but it should be interesting to show them how they can make one word more important than the rest by the way they say it. First, make lion the important word :

(1) The LION beat the unicorn.

Let them say it together softly once: and then

C.E. II.

97

G

98

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

softly again except the word lion, which they must

say loudly to emphasise it. In the same way :

(2) The lion Beat the unicorn.

(3) The lion beat the Unicorn.

Actual pronunciation and spelling will be dealt with

in the notes on the individual pieces.

Composition will progress in the same way. Oral

work will continue to take precedence. In this it

must be the constant aim to induce the child to lose

his self-consciousness and express himself naturally

--and therefore clearly--to the class. Encourage

the use of the actual words of the piece, for thereby

the child will increase his vocabulary. He might

even learn by heart a sentence in which a difficult

or strange word occurs. The teacher should take

care that his own explanation of an unknown word

is at once clear and interesting. Hints on this are

given under § γ of the notes on the individual pieces.

Above all, now that the child has learnt to read in

sentences, he must learn to think in sentences.

Allow nothing slipshod in his speech, and see there

is nothing slipshod in your own. After such training

in sentence-thinking, written composition should

present no difficulties beyond technical ones--spelling,

punctuation and the like.

In such written work as is given this year :

(i) Allow the child to write his sentences naturally.

The use of the Capital Letter and the Full-stop has

already been explained during the first year, but

should be explained again now. If the child “thinks”

sentences (the desired result of all oral work) he will

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

99

write them with some degree of exactness; but from

the outset he must be taught to recognise the ending

of his thought—in other words, the importance of

the full-stop. No question of simple, compound

or complex sentences should enter in. The writing

of sentences as answers to questions may be a useful

avenue to this important lesson. The use of the

full-stop will be evident to the children from their

reading, but will not be so easy to practise. Exagger-

ate the effects of its omission—the resulting breathless

flow of words without meaning. Probably they will

see the “ humour ” of it.

(ii) Keep before the children continually the idea

of Plan in composition. Illustrate with the simile

of the architect and his plans of the house. In the

same way the story is built up on a plan. If there

were no plan the story would fall to pieces, or become

foolish; just as a house that was not previously

planned might be built without doors and windows.

If possible, try to picture this on the board.

Grammar

The elements of some formal grammar must be

taught, mainly by pictures. It is imperative that

the grammar-lesson should be a cheerful one. This

year these lessons will be developed in dealing with

actual parts of speech, and suggestions are given

from time to time in the notes on the individual

pieces. Make the work of words obvious to the

children, so that they may have a sense of the reality

of the whole thing. Avoid taking the grammar-

lesson as a formal lesson during this year : let it be

100

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

incidental. Make the words persons with a history

and a name, each carrying out its special function in

its sentence.

Imaginative Work

Remember that you are dealing this year with

children who, in the growing up, are losing, little by

little, something of their infant imagination and fancy.

Imperceptibly, perhaps, but no less really, they are

"materialising" the fairies, beginning to doubt the

authenticity of Santa Claus, disbelieving the story of

the little Dust-man who comes at night. The

tendency of the age is towards materialism and cold

science, a tendency which is affecting even the child.

[The teacher will remember, possibly, the Punch

picture. Father (to little boy of six) : "Look, Tommy,

at the big air-puff-puff !" Little boy (coldly) :

"Did you say the—H.P. Handley Page biplane ?"]

In the face of this, and in spite of it, the teacher must

endeavour to kindle and keep alive the child's imagina-

tion. There must be no check on it. He must be

given to understand from the outset that essentially

he is a "poet." In this way only can be kept alive

that love of literature which it is the aim of these

books to foster; and not only literature, but all the

spirituality which may be summed up in the term

"Art."

Allow, then, his imagination to run riot, in pictures,

in action, in song, in dramatisation. Special notes on

these are given where they are relevant. The people

in the reading-book must be living people, the scenes

actual and vivid, the action plain. Just now the

children are getting impressions, somewhen or other

to be given back transformed and changed. They

must get them freely from the reading; but remember

all the time that even now (as nowhen else in his

life) the child himself is bubbling over with fancies

and ideas, the result of those early years of life when

the Earth is still a mystery and the People on it

strange and puzzling to him. It is not well that

these things should fade away without expression.

Possibly, probably, they are the finest things the

teacher will ever get from that child, and, what is

more important, the child will be the better, the

more “educated” in its literal and true sense, for

having expressed them.

Poetry

Under this heading must come a short note on

poetry. The teaching of poetry (if it is permissible

to use so strange a word as “teach” in such a con-

nection) to young children is difficult and the result

of successful teaching particularly gratifying. Even

to the child, poetry is a matter of appreciation of

the individual: we can never be made to like (and

we wish we could add, never to dislike) any particular

poem. It is well, therefore, if the teacher's remarks

on the poems are of the slightest, being intended to

guide the child's thought rather than to fix it. Let

the actual reading be natural, without any comment

at all. Rhythm can be taught separately.

What has been said above concerning imagination

is, of course, eminently true of the poetry “lesson.”

There must be no question of technique to check

the greater ideal of poetry. Technique is to be

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GENERAL INTRODUCTION

treated, very delicately, apart. Above all, do not

force poetry on the unwilling child. The literary

inclinations of ninety per cent. of boys and girls

to-day are spoilt by bad literature " teaching "—

probably because the teacher tries to " teach " when

he should but be a tactful guide. It is for the class,

even at this early age, to criticise and to love.

The teacher must efface himself in the poetry-

reading lesson. The children themselves must enjoy

or not enjoy. There should be no weary explana-

tions; no grammar; no spelling. Free play must be

allowed to the child's imagination.

Perhaps it will be well for the teacher to read the

piece first. But that reading must be careful and

imaginative. Above all, it must bring out the sense

of rhythm to the child, and careful voice-modulation

should create the atmosphere of the piece.

GENERAL NOTES

(i) Learning by heart.—Allow the children to learn

by heart only the pieces they really like. Liberty of

choice is extremely desirable, even though there may

be some confusion in result.

(ii) Pictures.—Give the class ample opportunity for

drawing pictures to illustrate the poems.

(iii) Music.—Whenever possible link up the poetry-

lesson with the music-lesson, to bring out to the full

the idea of musical rhythm in poetry.

THE CRANES

(a) Technique of Reading, Pronunciation

AND Spelling

(1) Technique of Reading.

From the beginning the children this year must

be taught to read in sentences. Last year's work

will have given them practice, and there should not

be too much difficulty now. Gradually, therefore,

the unit becomes larger : sound (letter)—word—

sentence—paragraph. Encourage the use of the

word “paragraph ” and show, in the actual reading-

lesson, that a paragraph is really a unit of subject-

matter. The realisation of this will be an aid to

rational reading on the part of the child, and, later

on, a guiding star of his own composition.

Emphasis and voice-modulation should become a

feature of the reading-lesson; not as a set exercise,

but as a natural outcome of the child's interest and

appreciation of the story. Last year the child would

have read § 9 of Part II correctly. This year the

teacher must not be contented until the child reads

it with wonder in his voice. More and more the

reading must become a thing of feeling, when it is

possible to forget for a little time the claims of

technique. The dramatisation of the story (see

under §) will help in this.

Keep the conversation real even in the actual

103

104

EXERCISES IN

reading-lesson. Mary and the Oven and the Apple-tree must speak in different tones of voice. A piece

like this should go far towards curing the children of monotonous reading. Moreover, a strict insistence

on word-emphasis will prepare the way for an easier treatment of the function of words in the grammar-

lessons of the middle years.

(2) Pronunciation and Spelling.

[A detailed method is outlined in the notes on "Snow-drop," to which the teacher is referred (see

pp. 119, 120). Following is a plan of arrangement for the words in this piece. The teacher will note that

the comments on the groups given in "Snowdrop" will apply equally to the following groups.]

(a) Strange vowel-sounds

once some mother brother

watched done minutes friends

oven one world

(b) ea = ə (not = ee). See 3 under "Snowdrop"

peasant ready meadow bread

(c) s = sh

sure sugar

(d) Words with "lazy" or silent letters

(i) gh.

thought naughty straight through

taught tightly caught

(ii) Other silent letters :

would could climb

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

105

(e) s = z

presently

was

deserves

(f) The little letter that always follows q

queerest

quite

(g) How "l" gets lost

already (al3 ready)

until (until3)

(β) COMPOSITION

(1) Oral Work.

The oral work should proceed on the lines laid down in the General Introduction, it being kept in mind that the children must be taught always to think and speak complete thoughts, i. e. to use sentences. All broken phrases, single words and such like as apologies for sentences must be rigorously suppressed. [NOTE : In other lessons, do not allow " word " or " suggestive " answers; insist on the expression of complete thoughts; and always finish and round-off your own sentences when speaking to the class.]

The story of " The Cranes " is quite simple; any child in the class should be able to retell it clearly and briefly after he has had reasonable time to study it. It may be the conversational parts will constitute a difficulty. See that the child narrates these either all in Direct or all in Indirect speech. The teacher need not explain the difference technically : he should just guide him on one or the other path. Such guidance will be valuable later on.

A lesson on oral composition calls for great patience

106

EXERCISES IN

and infinite tact. The teacher has the child in front

of the class, telling the story that has been read—

at least he ought to have the child there, for the

teacher has got to cure him of that self-consciousness

and nervousness which are the sworn enemies of

good speech. The child is going to make number-

less mistakes, of course. Some of his sentences will

be a mere unmeaning collection of words. It is even

more likely that he will go on, as it were for ever,

with a whole train of thoughts linked together with

ands and buts. All this must be corrected, and all

the time the attention and interest of the rest of the

class must be held. Bring into play the element of

exaggeration. Show the child (but be careful that

your attitude is humorous and not satirical : it is

unforgivable to hurt a child's feelings) how absurd

an unfinished thought is. What would he think of

a man who built a house and forgot to put the roof

on? Point out the defects of the long “ and ”

sentences. It has been the present writer's practice

to call such sentences “ snaky ” (as having a long

tail). He draws back in fear and dread as if a viper

were about to spring at him when such a sentence is

perpetrated by a boy ! This is but a suggestion, of

course : the children like such things, and they learn

more through laughter than through tears. Ever-

more, probably, the very word “ and ” will make

them think of snakes.

(2) Written Work.

(i) Plan.—[See the notes on “ Plan ” in the General

Introduction.]

This story is admirable for pictorial planning.

The following is a suggestion :

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 107

Simply show how the story divides itself into two parts : (i) the theft of the cranes and the outward journey; (ii) the theft of Mary from the witch and the homeward journey. The children will readily appreciate such a pictorial diagram. Let them draw it themselves before they do any written work.

(ii) Sentence Construction, etc.—It is inadvisable to draw any distinction yet between the various types of sentences. One thing must always be kept before the child—(a) that the simplest kind of sentence is the writing-down of one thought, and (b) that if he wants to write more than one thought at a time he must join his thoughts together with “ joining-words.” [Illustration : What would be the good of a railway engine, if the engine were not joined to the carriages and the carriages to one another?—See

108

EXERCISES IN

below for development.] In other words, the teacher

is insisting on the full-stop, on the fact that all the

words written between two full-stops must make

complete sense. Here he is probably up against the

greatest difficulty of elementary composition, and

there is really no royal road to success in the teaching

of the period. But a little vivid use of example may

help to form the habit and instinct of the funda-

mentals of punctuation—the writing down of thought.

Use examples from the text. Part III, § 10, is a good

one. Divide it up into its four separate thoughts :

(1) Her father and mother came back from the

market.

(2) Mary told them what had happened.

(3) They were so pleased to have their little boy

back safe and sound.

(4) They quite forgot to scold her.

On the left of the board (i. e. provided the black-

board is large enough) draw an engine and three

carriages without any couplings, illustrating these

four thoughts, thus :

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 109

On the right of the board (again provided the black-board is large enough) draw the train again with its couplings, showing that the four thoughts may be joined together in one sentence. The joining-words (i.e. the conjunctions and conjunctive pronouns) will be represented by the couplings. Give some other examples, and allow the class to draw the engines, etc.

(γ) Grammar and Vocabulary

(1) It will be well to take one particular type of word (in grammatical language “part of speech”—but avoid dry-bone expressions when talking to the class; always give a word a personality; humanise it) in each lesson. In this lesson take Nouns. Already the children will have learnt something about nouns. Now is the time for them to begin to recognise the various changes that take place in the life of a noun, and to get well acquainted with the whole idea of naming-words.

Start with the distinction between proper and common nouns. Take the words Hungary (I, § 1) and Mary. Point out on a map of the world, or of Europe, that there are many countries, but just one of them (point to it) is called Hungary. The word country can apply to any one of them (England, Norway, Spain, etc.) : it is common property to them all (cp. Streatham Common, etc.). Perhaps it might be explained that the French propre means “one’s very own.” In the same way Mary is distinguished from all the other girls. Illustrate from the class. There might follow an interesting

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EXERCISES IN

talk on the use and origin of names. Show how the

common noun became the proper noun :—[black]-

smith > Smith; baker > Baker; butcher > Butcher.

Drive home the fact that a proper noun is always

distinguished by a capital letter. Show the class some

ornamented capitals and let them make a picture of

their capitals sometimes. It will be an interesting

way for them to learn an important lesson.

The formation of the plural might well be a feature

of another lesson. There are many examples in this

piece on which some classification might be based :

e. g. wife, children, brother, witch, leaves, baby, boy.

Explain in as interesting a way as possible the

various rules of which these words are examples :

E. g. wife—leaf.—The long-tailed f that becomes

a v.

baby.—The y that makes itself an i.

boy.—The y that does not make itself an i, because

it is afraid of the vowel-letter that goes before it.

witch.—Get the class to try to say “ witchs.”

Show them that a vowel-letter (e) has to come in to

help hissing sounds.

children.—A word which will have nothing to do

with the letter s. [The etymology will perhaps

interest the class. “ Children ” is a double plural.

The O.E. cild had a plural cildru which later became

childer, a word that is still extant in some parts of

the country. It was only the influence of language

busybodies that made childer into child[e]ren, so as

to be like other plurals in n.]

brother.—A greedy word with two plurals. [What

are they? When are they used?]

For brethren, cp. children, supra.

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 111

Get other examples from the class, and continue this kind of classification through succeeding lessons.

The matter of gender need not be insisted on, since there is no such thing as grammatical gender in English. But the sex distinction can be illustrated from this piece :

peasant (any feminine form ?)

wife (masculine?)

boy (feminine?)

mother (masculine?)

witch (masculine), etc.

(2) Vocabulary.

Most of the words in this piece are straightforward enough. The following may be the better for some picturesque explanation :

peasant (picture of little cottage, farm, simple man and woman).

crane (picture of the bird, if possible. The other sense of the word crane should be distinguished. The machine is so called from its likeness to the bird).

Let there be plenty of exercise in synonyms and word-building. There is nothing like it for enriching a child's vocabulary.

Words for synonyms : road, big, wicked, meadow, heap, hut, etc.

Be certain always that the children realise the meaning of the word in the sentence in which it occurs before they attempt to give synonyms. See that they can put their synonyms into sentences of their own.

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EXERCISES IN

(δ) Imagination and Expression

(1) Let the children "picture" the story in their

own way. Look for and encourage a sense of detail.

Make it perfectly clear to every child that he must

express his own imagination, even if his drawing

itself be crude. The teacher must, in fact, try to

dismiss altogether the idea of drawing-technique from

this lesson.

(2) Dramatisation.

Let the children take parts. The various speeches

may be easily detached and the whole story acted.

Avoid any suggestions beyond the actual setting of

the story.

Exercises. Part I

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt: certain, peasant, ready,

sure, presently, watched, minutes, naughty, knew,

careless.

2. Use adjectives to describe: girl, dinner, children,

cranes, baby.

3. Give words that will stand instead of: peasant,

market, few minutes, father and mother.

4. Make sentences to describe these objects: cows,

garden, cranes, fields.

5. Fill up the spaces with a "doing-word":

(1) They — some cows.

(2) He — a good dinner.

(3) Mary — in the garden.

(4) The cranes — into the garden.

(5) The little girl —.

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 113

B. Illustration on page 5.

1. What kind of tree is drawn in this picture?

2. What makes you think so?

3. How many cranes are there?

4. What is the name of the little girl in the picture?

C. Composition.

1. Where is Hungary?

2. What is a peasant?

3. Describe a crane.

4. Do you know of any other birds as strong as the crane? If you do, tell their names.

5. What games do you think the children would play in the road?

6. Describe how to play one of these games.

7. What do you think Mary actually said when she sat down and cried?

Exercises. Part II

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt: presently, meadow, already, please, straight, gathered, stream, through, reach, queerest, sugar, caught, pieces.

2. Use adjectives to describe: tree, apples, horse, rock, ball.

3. Give words that will stand instead of: presently, before long, gathered, sure, queerest, rushed.

4. Make sentences to describe these objects: stream, ginger-bread, apple-tree.

C.E. II.

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EXERCISES IN

5. Fill in the spaces with a “doing-word”.

(1) Mary —— the apples.

(2) She —— through the hole.

(3) Her little brother

(4) Mary —— the tree.

(5) The witch —— the cranes.

B. Illustration on page 9.

1. What was this hut made of?

2. Where is baby brother sitting?

3. What is he doing?

4. How is he dressed?

5. What has Mary got hold of?

6. What is it used for?

C. Composition.

1. Describe the hut. Draw it in chalks.

2. Imagine yourself to be (a) the oven; (b) the

tree; (c) the horse.

Tell the story of Mary and the Cranes.

3. The horse is said to be wise. How would you

describe (a) the cat; (b) the fox; (c) the dog;

(d) the donkey?

4. Write two sentences on each of the following :

(a) an apple-tree laden with fruit,

(b) a stream,

(c) a horse.

5. What words could you use instead of “called,”

“said”?

6. What did the witch say and do to the Cranes

when they returned?

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 115

Exercises. Part III

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : flying, growing, tired, chasing, leaves, tightly, chase, deserves, climb, really, pecked, safely, screaming, scold.

2. Use adjectives to describe : leaves, baby, door, house, arms.

3. Give words that will stand instead of : very tired, deserves, not slow, you may be sure, at once.

4. Make sentences to describe these objects : oven, leaves, house, rug, parents.

5. Fill up the spaces with a "doing-word" :

(1) Mary — faster than ever.

(2) The tree — her with its leaves.

(3) Mary — the baby in her arms.

(4) She — the door.

(5) The cranes — after her.

(6) — inside and — the door.

B. Illustration on page 12.

1. How many cranes can you see?

2. What are they doing?

C. Composition.

1. What things helped Mary to trace her brother?

2. Write sentences describing :

(1) a bird in flight,

(2) the feathers of a bird,

(3) a sleeping baby,

(4) a cottage,

(5) a cow in a field.

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EXERCISES IN

3. Tell the story as Mary would relate it to her parents.

4. Suppose Mary had helped the horse in some way, just as she helped the oven and the apple-tree. Tell how she helped the horse, and how the horse helped her on the return journey when the cranes were following her.

5. Do you know of any other story in which birds steal a baby? Tell it, or write it (e.g. the eagle carrying off the baby).

6. Do you know of any story in which animals steal a baby? (Romulus and Remus; Mowgli).

7. Can you think of any good motto for this story?

8. "She ran as fast as her legs could carry her." Write this sentence in another way, showing that she ran very quickly.

9. What is there in the story that makes you think Mary was really a careful girl, although she neglected her little brother by going out to play with the village children?

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 117

BED-TIME

This poem of Hood's has none of the fanciful exquisiteness of " A Dutch Lullaby." It is a homelier thing altogether. Try to bring this out in the reading. Note the four short steady lines in each of the five stanzas, and insist, of course, on the kind of " chorus-line "

" It's time little people were going to bed."

EXERCISES

1. Why are the daisy, primrose and pimpernel picked out as flowers tired after the day and going to sleep?

2. Does the pimpernel close up at any other time except at night? [On the approach of bad weather.] Do you know any name given to the pimpernel on account of this? [The shepherd's weather-glass.]

3. What does the poem say about evening in the first line and in the last line but one? Why is the difference made? [The evening is coming; the evening has come.]

4. Stanza 4. " Up go his heels and down goes his head." What do you think the pony is doing?

5. Do you think this poem could be sung? What is a poem of this kind called? Name any other lullabies that you know. [This poem should be carefully compared with regard to rhythm (or beat) with the " Dutch Lullaby." The class can readily

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EXERCISES IN

be made to feel that the rhythm suggests rocking

to and fro.]

6. According to the poem, which go to sleep

first—flowers or animals? How do you account for

this?

7. Read stanza 3 carefully. What effect does

the sound produce on the brain?

8. Why in the last stanza is “good-night” re-

peated so often? [Give other examples of repetition

in lullabies.]

9. Who, in your opinion, is singing this song?

10. Let the children make drawings in chalks of

stanzas 1 and 4.

Illustration (tail-piece) on page 14.

1. What is the little boy doing?

2. What is the big girl doing?

3. What kind of light have they?

4. What can you see through the window?

5. How many beds can you see?

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 119

SNOW-DROP

(a) Pronunciation, Spelling and Technique

OF READING

A number of words in this piece will give trouble owing to their defiance of phonetic rules. As of necessity the pronunciation must be closely allied with spelling, a selection of such difficulties is appended, with a suggested classification.

1. ebony—body—enemy—where the children might expect a double letter : ebbony—boddy—ennemy. Try to elicit this from the class—they will probably give it straightway. There are other words in this piece which illustrate the same thing. The children should be encouraged to find them. Let them write the words first with the double letter (in a natural, phonetic way); secondly, as actually spelt: the b, d and n being underlined.

2. wandered—bury—water—once.—These words all have a strange vowel sound. By this time the children will have learnt to recognise the usual sounds represented by a, e, i, o, u, y, so they will readily see the strangeness of the sound in these words. Let them think of them as words with masks on (as if it were November 5) : or tell some such fancy of your own. Again let them write the words (i) as they might have spelt them, (ii) with the proper spelling, underlining the offending vowels. Ask also for other words (busy, etc.).

3. jealous—dead—breath—head.—These words are really akin to those given under 2, the vowel-sound

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EXERCISES IN

being strange. Ordinarily ea will = ce to the child ("breathe," which occurs in the piece, may be given as an example beside "breath"). Show, without any technical explanation, that the sound is a short one, and ask the class what letter they would like to put for the "ea." Their phonetic sense will be strong enough to ensure their suggesting "e." Writing exercise as before: and again let them suggest other words, in or outside the piece.

4. Words with Silent or Lazy Letters.

(a) gh.

through—thought—straight—daughter—delighted—night.—In all these words the children will easily recognise that the letters "gh" are lazy; they have gone on strike and are doing no work at all. After the children have done the usual writing exercise (see under 1 and 2 above) ask for other words containing the lazy "gh," and also for words where the "gh" acts as a boy with a mask, a kind of Guy Fawkes (e.g. rough, cough).

(b) p and b (Lip-letters).

comb—tempting.—These examples occur in the piece. Explain, as above for "gh." Ask for other examples (empty, climb, etc.).

(c) w.

answered—whole.—Explain as above, and ask for other examples.

(d) k.

knife—knocked—knit.—With these, the class might be encouraged to give examples also of "g" as a silent letter (gnat, gnome, gnarled).

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 121

(β) Composition

i. Oral. The story may be told by any one of the characters : e.g. Dwarf, Queen.

ii. Written. Remember the notes on Plan and Arrangement, and Construction of Sentences, given in General Introduction and in “The Cranes.”

(γ) Vocabulary and Grammar

(i) Explanation (for examples see under “The Steeple Trap”) of words like ebony (§ 1); jealous (§ 3); mirror (§ 3); as usual (§ 4); beauteous (§ 4); envy (§ 5); suited (§ 9); brethren (give the alternative “ brothers ” : § 12), etc. Explanations should always be as concrete as possible : e.g. nouns can sometimes be represented by the actual thing, verbs by performance of the action.

(ii) Point out the action words in the piece, and give the class the name verbs. Show that there cannot be a complete thought without an action-word. Let the children act some of the verbs in the piece.

(δ) Expression

(i) Talk about the story. It is a very old one, and it may interest the children—it certainly will interest any teacher who may not know the fact—that Shakespeare was acquainted with it. He worked it into the plot of Cymbeline.

(ii) Drawing.

Try to lead the class to bring out the prevailing element of snow.

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EXERCISES IN

(iii) Dramatisation.

Especially of the homecoming of the dwarfs.

Exercises. Part I

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : broad, ebony, daughter,

beautiful, jealous, answered, beauteous, lovelier,

beasts, pieces, weight, loaf, seventh, suited, dwarfs,

searched, meddling, brethren, astonishment.

2. Give words which could stand instead of : jealous,

fairest, as usual, envy, wandered, mirror, neat, suited.

3. What is meant by : his heart melted, a magic

mirror, she laid herself down, all was not right?

4. Use an adjective with each of these nouns : wood,

beasts, plate, cottage, dwarf.

5. Copy out this sentence and underline the "doing-

words" : They were seven little dwarfs that lived

among the mountains, and dug and searched about

for gold.

B. Illustration on page 15.

1. Who is this lady ?

2. What has she just done ?

3. What can you see behind her ?

Illustration on page 19.

1. How many little men are there here ?

2. How many are holding lanterns ?

3. What makes them look so strange and funny ?

4. What is there on the table ?

5. How many are sitting down ?

6. What kind of seats have they to sit on ?

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 123

C. Composition.

1. Write down as many words as you can to describe Snow-drop when she was left alone in the wood.

2. Tell why Snow-drop was left in the wood.

3. Tell what Snow-drop saw when she went into the dwarfs' cottage.

4. Write out (in script) the words of Snow-drop's mother's wish.

5. Write out what the first dwarf said when he saw something was wrong in the cottage.

6. What had another dwarf to say about his spoon?

7. What did the dwarfs say when they found Snow-drop asleep?

Exercises. Part II

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : pitied, knit, mountains, remained, believe, certainly, handsomest, truth, betrayed, disguised, knock, mischief, grieved, stretched, motionless, breathe.

2. Give words which could stand instead of : pitied, betrayed, disguised, wares, nimbly, spiteful.

3. What is meant by : take good care of, they warned her, a very good sort of body, motionless, she came to life again?

4. With what nouns could these adjectives be used : faithful, spiteful, handsome, new?

B. Illustration on page 23.

1. Who is pulling at the string?

2. In whose house is this taking place?

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EXERCISES IN

3. What room in the house is it?

4. Describe the window.

5. What is the article in the right-hand bottom corner of the picture?

6. What would you expect to see in the basket?

C. Composition.

1. What is a pedlar?

2. How did the Queen find the home of Snow-drop?

3. Write sentences describing

(a) Snow falling.

(b) The bed in which Snow-drop slept.

4. Describe Snow-drop's work in the dwarfs' cottage.

5. "The wicked Queen disguised herself as an old pedlar, and came over the green hills to the secret place where beautiful Snow-drop lived."

Copy out this sentence and underline all the describing words.

Exercises. Part III

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : surprise, again, disguise, poisoned, comb, touched, senseless, guessed, recovered, receive, exactly, secretly, chamber, tempting, peasant, refuse, scarcely, envious.

2. Give words which could stand instead of : senseless, secretly, prepared, envious.

3. What is meant by : to her great surprise, the blood ran cold in her heart, by good luck, she trembled with rage, she could refuse no longer, her envious heart?

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 125

B. Composition.

1. Imagine that Snow-drop is telling you the story of the Queen's third visit to the cottage. Tell what she might say.

2. Tell how the Queen persuaded Snow-drop to take the poisoned comb.

3. "Snow-drop shall die, if it costs me my life." When did the Queen say these words?

4. Write down what the glass told the Queen after Snow-drop was poisoned by the apple.

Exercises. Part IV

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : lying, breath, bier, ground, mourn, earnestly, preyed, palace, splendour, curiosity, reigned.

2. Give words that could stand instead of : proposed, mourned, earnestly, consented, splendour, curiosity.

3. What is meant by : golden letters, they had pity on him, pomp and splendour, I ween, she choked with passion.

B. Illustration on p. 29.

1. How many dwarfs can you see?

2. Who is riding on the horse?

3. Do the dwarfs look merry or sad?

Illustration on p. 31.

1. What can you see at the back of the picture?

2. What is the little page doing?

3. What shows you that the man is a Prince?

4. How many trees can you count?

5. What is the big ring in the picture?

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EXERCISES IN

C. Composition.

1. Describe how Snow-drop "came to life again."

2. Write sentences describing :

(a) The dwarfs.

(b) The Prince.

(c) The poisoned apple.

3. What happened at the end to the wicked Queen?

4. Imagine you were at Snow-drop's wedding. Describe how she was dressed.

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

127

THE WONDERFUL WORLD

Read stanza 1 with breadth, fairly slowly, to get

the feeling of wonder; stanza 2 quicker, for the

wind. Try to get the transition from stanza 3 to

stanzas 4 and 5, i. e. from the child's wonder at the

greatness of the world to its more homely, naïve

pride in itself.

EXERCISES

1. In addition to the four words describing

" World " in the first line, think of two or three

others that might be used.

2. What do you mean by " the wind walks on

the water "? Can you see the wind? How, then,

do you know it is walking on the water?

3. Where else can you see the wind walking?

[E. g. over a corn-field.]

4. What picture do you get of " the World " from

this poem? Is the poet thinking of the world simply

as a mass of rocks, plants, water, etc.? [Idea of

Personification.]

5. Can wheat-fields really nod?

6. What words used in the poem make you under-

stand that the world is very large indeed?

7. In what way is even a little child better than

the world?

8. Read to the class the fable of " The Squirrel

and the Mountain." Get the children to tell how

the fable reminds them of this poem.

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EXERCISES IN

9. We are told that the wind talks to itself. What other words can we use telling what the wind does? [Whispers, moans, whistles, rustles.]

10. Make a drawing to go with any of the five stanzas.

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 129

THE YELLOW SIXPENNY

(a) TECHNIQUE OF READING, PRONUNCIATION AND SPELLING

The teacher should follow the suggestions given for the other prose passages. Again, the conversation will give practice in voice inflection. The " wistfulness " of Carrots should be brought out by the children (this will be more apparent in the acting—see δ). § 3 will present difficulties with its artificial emphasis—" so," " nucken," " quite." Explain this point carefully to the class.

Classify spelling and pronunciation as in " Snow-drop " (see pp. 119, 120). Words like shore, rain, weather, sewing, piece, will furnish the foundation for a lesson on words with different meaning and the same (or very similar) sound. The pronunciation of one or two difficult words, e.g. deposited, persuaded, descended, will require special attention.

(β) COMPOSITION

(i) Oral.—Retelling of the story as a whole or in parts. A sense of detail may be instilled by asking the child for a description of isolated things and events in the story, e.g. clouds before rain; Floss's drawer; her dolls.

(ii) Written.—Practice can be given in the use of " quotes " and of the question-mark. Follow the suggestions given for composition for C.E. II.

I

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EXERCISES IN

the other stories in the book, insisting on plan as

before. The plan of this piece suggests itself thus :

5. The finding of "The Yellow Sixpenny."

6. Description of Drawer and Dolls.

7. Floss's suggestion.

8. The Discontent of Carrots.

9. Threatening Rain.

(γ) Vocabulary and Grammar

The words in the piece are fairly simple, only

words like deposited, bodily, crumpled, needing ex-

planation. Each of these may be illustrated by an

action on the part of the teacher or the class.

For Grammar, show

(a) plurals of nouns,

(b) the use of the apostrophe s, singular and

plural,

(c) contracted words.

There is a number of examples throughout the

piece, which can be classified by the children after

the reading-lesson.

(δ) Imagination and Expression

(i) Pictures should be drawn as usual; e.g. of

one of Floss's old ugly dolls and of the doll Carrots

was going to buy her. The children should be

encouraged to picture the story in their own way.

(ii) Dramatisation.

The story may be acted quite easily in class, the

children supplying their own conversation after

reading the story. This will afford excellent practice

in oral composition.

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 131

(iii) Further stories from Mrs. Molesworth's book

might be told by the teacher.

A. Words.

EXERCISES

1. Words to be learnt : school, regular, deposited,

smooth, colour, persuaded, saucer, wrapped, des-

cended, determined, completed.

2. Write down two other words that are pronounced

exactly the same as "rein." Write three sentences

to show that you know the correct use of each of

the three words.

3. What adjectives are formed from: lead, duty,

colour, interest, nature?

4. What words could be used in place of the following:

(a) to lift out bodily,

(b) in order,

(c) it never entered his head,

(d) in much need of,

(e) could not be persuaded?

5. Write down the plurals of: duty, shelf, fairy,

child, window, piece.

6. What words have the opposite meaning to: cross,

pretty, busy, neat, stoop, easily, heavy, delight,

little, quiet?

B. Composition.

1. What do you think Carrots really found?

2. Write two or three sentences describing (a) a

penny, (b) a sixpence, (c) a half-crown.

3. Write sentences describing the sea

(a) just before rain begins to fall,

(b) when the wind is rough,

(c) in the sunshine.

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EXERCISES IN

4. Why do you think Carrots was so named?

5. Describe your own paint-box, telling what it contains.

6. Put brackets round the actual words Carrots used :

If I had some money, he said to himself, I would buy Floss such a most beautiful doll.

7. Copy out the passage again, and use "quotes" instead of brackets.

8. If any child has ever found what he thought a "treasure," let him tell the class what it was, and what he did with it.

9. Why did Floss and Carrots think it was going to rain? What other signs, besides the ones they mentioned, do you see before a rainstorm?

10. Before the rain, we are told that the water looked dull and leaden. Make up two more sentences about the water, telling how it looked

(a) on a sunny day,

(b) on a windy day.

11. Suppose Carrots had not made up his mind to buy a doll for Floss with his "yellow sixpenny." Make up a story telling how he spent it.

12. Now tell the story you have just made up, as though you were Carrots.

13. Have you ever tidied out a box (or a desk or even a room)? Tell the class how you did it.

14. Put these into your own words :

(a) He fixed on a beautiful place.

(b) It never entered into his little head.

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 133

SANTA CLAUS

This poem must be read at Christmas-time. It has a quick, happy movement, suggestive of bells and toy trumpets. Probably the children will see this at once. The first reading might well end at stanza 7. Children of this age have nothing to do with crime and with "bells sounding o'er the centuries." They will get that later from In Memoriam.

Exercises

1. Which night in the year does Santa Claus come?

2. What are reindeer? Why are their hoofs said to be "shod with eider-down," and their horns to be "tipped with gold"?

3. Stanza 1 is repeated as stanza 7. Why do you think the poetess writes this stanza twice over?

4. What do you mean by

"quaint old gables,"

"the windy ridge" (stanza 3)?

5. "He makes the fir-trees and the spruce To blossom like the rose."

How can Santa Claus do this?

6. Make drawings of Santa Claus

(a) in his sledge, drawn by reindeer,

(b) in the children's bedroom.

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EXERCISES IN

THE GIANT'S HEART

Preparation.

It will be necessary before reading this story to have a preliminary lesson on Norway, its geographical features and characteristics, and its inhabitants.

Pictures of Norwegian scenery, especially of mountains and pine-trees, as well as of the characteristic dress of the people, might be shown to confirm or correct the children's ideas and impressions. Descriptions of a wolf, an island, a lake, a well, a heart, can be given incidentally and drawings of them made on a black-board to illustrate.

[An interesting point, for the teacher at all events, will be the comparison that can be drawn between this fairy tale of Norway and those of a country like Ireland. Ireland is a country of green pastures and of trees with bright foliage, with such hills as there are clothed with verdure, a country of bright lakes and rivers. Norway is a land of rugged mountains, dark fjords and of trees of the pine and fir type with dark gloomy foliage. These differing types of vegetation have probably had their effect on the fairy lore of the respective countries. Irish fairy tales are as a rule those of rollicking humour, of kindly fairies or, at the worst, of mischievous elves. On the other hand, Norwegian fairy tales are usually stories of cruel ogres and giants, of terrible trolls and gnomes. Even the heroes of these tales possess qualities that cannot be admired. Notice the ingratitude and callousness shown by the prince in

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 135

this tale when he cheerfully sacrifices his horse to

the wolf who, he considers, will be of more assistance

to him than his decrepit steed will be. Note also

how he fails to keep his word to his enemy the giant.

After the latter has fulfilled his part of the bargain

and restored the prince's brothers and their brides

to their natural state, the prince brings about the

death of the giant.

Compare, similarly, Shakespeare's A Midsummer

Night's Dream and Hamlet. The scene of the former

is laid in sunny Greece; that of Hamlet in the gloomy

fortress of Elsinore (it might just as well have been

laid across the Sound in Scandinavia). To pursue

the theme further, the differences between Comedy

and Tragedy might be connected with the natural

features of the country in which the scene is laid.]

(a) Technique of Reading, Pronunciation and

Spelling

(i) Technique of Reading.

During the first reading the teacher should aim at

the children's becoming word perfect; during the

second reading, more attention might be concen-

trated on voice modulation and emphasis. Children

must be taught that different people speak in

different tones. This contrast can be well brought

out in the conversation between the giant and the

princess. Questions will need special attention in

conversations. Model reading by the teacher, and

by the best readers in the class, will be stimulating.

This, however, should not be attempted until the

words in the piece are thoroughly familiar to the

whole class.

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EXERCISES IN

(ii) Pronunciation and Spelling.

Words containing new vowel sounds, or presenting special difficulties, should be classified and written on the black-board at the beginning of the lesson. They should be dealt with by the teacher before the actual reading begins. Suggested groups of words in each of the three parts of the story are appended :

Part I

(a) brother

(b) country

(c) around

nothing

young

mountain

covered

friend

daughter

sons

coast

waited

lovely

wolf

eat

(d) begged

(e) forced

lean

ridden

prince

princess

Cinder-lad.

Part II

(a) daresay

(b) heaven

(c) mounted

only

heart

found

early

though

through

afraid

great

laugh

(d) knew

(e) prettiest

(f) surely

back

off

know

pick

right

cupboard

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 137

Part III

(a) grasped

water

spare

saw

whom

two

(b) good-bye

heard

feast

pieces

(c) island

duck

(d) again

said

pain

does

cried

(e) prettily

egg

happened

dropped

press

merry

still

(f) noticed

fancy.

(β) Composition

The class can tell or write parts of the story, in the first person, from the point of view of the different characters; e.g. as one of the princes or princesses turned to stone, as the wolf. As the outcome of the preliminary talk, they can be asked for descriptions of Norway, or for a life of a peasant boy or girl. Boys will love to impersonate the giant.

(γ) Grammar and Vocabulary

Very full notes have been given under 'The Cranes ' (see pp. 109-111).

(δ) Imagination and Expression

(i) Dramatisation.

This gives plenty of opportunity for training in voice modulation.

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EXERCISES IN

(ii) Drawing.

Let the class picture portions of the story in

their own way. Excellence in drawing is a minor

matter; what is wanted is the child's own imagina-

tion. The class might attempt

The Giant's Castle,

Cinder-lad meeting the wolf,

A Scene in Norway,

The Church on the island in the lake.

(iii) Modelling.

A pine-tree, a duck.

(iv) Paper Cutting.

A wolf, a duck.

Exercises. Part I

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : Scotland, Norway, youngest,

princesses, daughter, women, prayed, lean, hungry.

2. Write down the plurals of : wolf, woman, prince,

princess.

3. Give the words that mean the opposite of : princess,

brother, daughter, king, giant, bride.

4. Fill in the spaces with words telling " how " :

(1) The horse galloped __.

(2) The giant strode __.

(3) The snail crawls __.

5. Galloped, strode, crawls are words that describe

movement.

Write down a few more words of the same kind.

6. In what other way could you write " the giant's

heart "?

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 139

7. Write in another way each of the following :

(1) The books of the boy.

(2) The mother of the girl.

(3) The letters of the postman.

(4) The holidays of the children.

B. Illustration on page 44.

1. What kinds of trees are shown in the picture?

2. What is the black animal?

3. Is the horse supposed to be shedding tears?

4. What is Cinder-lad wearing (1) on his head, (2) round his neck?

5. Why has the artist shown mountains in the background?

C. Composition.

1. What do we learn from the story about Norway?

2. What are the occupations of the people of Norway?

3. Enclose in brackets the actual words used by Cinder-lad and the wolf :

If I give you my horse, said Cinder-lad, I shall have nothing to ride on.

You can ride on my back, said the wolf, and I will help you, when you are in need.

4. Copy out the passage given in No. 3, and in place of the brackets, insert "quotes" (i. e. quotation-marks).

5. Write a sentence or two describing the wolf.

6. Try to say how the coat of a wolf is different from that of your cat.

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EXERCISES IN

Exercises. Part II

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : eaten, mounted, meal, ridden, brides, farther, afraid, through, feeling, lovely, supper, right, cupboard, laugh, early, truth, prettiest, flowers, strewed.

2. Give the words that mean the opposite of : truth, prettiest, great, early, never, fast, strong.

3. Write down the "telling" words (i.e. verbs) in paragraph 2.

B. Composition.

1. Imagine you are Cinder-lad. Tell your story to the wolf.

2. Insert the "quotes" in :

There is one thing I should like to ask you, if only I dared, said the princess.

What thing is that? asked the giant. Only where it is you keep your heart, said the princess.

3. Why did the giant laugh after telling the princess his heart lay in the cupboard?

4. Why do you think the princess strewed the pretty flowers around the cupboard?

Exercises. Part III

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : return, crept, noticed, nonsense, prettily, island, church, good-bye, hedges, dropped, fetched, fancy, feasting.

2. Use adjectives to describe : giant, flowers, heart, wolf, church, egg.

3. Give words that will stand instead of : noticed, hold out no longer, all alive and merry.

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 141

B. Illustration on page 49.

1. What is to be seen at the back of the picture?

2. What is Cinder-lad doing?

3. What is there to be seen among the trees?

C. Composition.

1. Explain how it was that the princess in the story had never returned.

2. Tell where and how the egg was hidden.

3. Write sentences containing the following pairs of words :

(1) pinewood and hill,

(2) mountain and snow,

(3) horse and broken-down.

4. Tell in your own words what the old king would be likely to say on the return of the lost ones.

5. What do you think would be a suitable reward for the wolf to get, in return for all the good things he had done?

6. Why do you think Cinder-lad was so named?

7. Tell the story as though you were the lost princess.

8. Take parts and act the story.

9. Suppose that the prince had spared the giant's life, as he promised. Tell the story as the giant might have told it, making up a suitable ending.

10. Complete these sentences :

(1) The wolf was so hungry that __.

(2) The princess begged so prettily that the giant

(3) The princess was so lovely that __.

(4) After he had eaten, he was in such a good temper that __.

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EXERCISES IN

ROBIN REDBREAST

This poem should be read in the autumn, drearily. Try to bring out especially the gloominess of " It's Autumn, Autumn, Autumn late " and of " Welaway! my Robin." Some figures in the poem will need explanation, e.g. " Indian Princes"; " ghosts " of the trees; but get the children's ideas first. In stanza 3 contrast the cosiness of the cricket and the mouse with the desolation of the robin's abode. Do not hesitate to read or quote other poems on the cricket (e.g. Leigh Hunt's and Keats's sonnets : see p. 173) and on the mouse (e.g. Burns), and tell any legends or stories about the robin. This poem has been set to a dreary tune; but the singing of it to that tune would bring out the gloom and desolation of late autumn and early winter.

EXERCISES

1. To whom do you think this poem is addressed?

2. Picture each stanza. Notice the transition of late Summer (stanza 1) into Autumn (stanza 2), and then Winter (stanza 3).

3. Note carefully the refrain—the last four lines in each stanza. Each of the refrains is varied to the season of the year.

4. What signs of late summer does the poet mention in the first stanza?

5. Draw a picture of Robin Redbreast. If you are colouring your picture, what two colours will you use?

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 143

6. "The trees are Indian Princes,

But soon they'll turn to Ghosts."

What do these two lines mean?

["Indian Princes" refers to the leaves of bright

yellow, red and orange.]

7. What colour is russet?

8. When do "pinching times" come?

9. In the third stanza, what contrast is drawn

between the Robin, and the Cricket and Mouse?

[In winter, the robin has no home; the cricket lives

by the fireside and the mouse in the wheatstack.]

10. "The branches plumed with snow." Explain

plumed. Why would not covered be a suitable word?

11. Do you prefer Autumn or Winter? Give some

reasons for your choice.

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EXERCISES IN

THE THREE CHILDREN OF FORTUNE

(a) Technique of Reading, Pronunciation

and Spelling

(i) Technique of Reading.

The chief difficulty in this piece will be the “fixing”

of words and their pronunciation. Each paragraph

may be repeated once or twice, in order that this

preliminary work may be thoroughly well done.

Expression will not come all at once into the read-

ing; but it will be found to improve if, during the

second reading of the story, the meanings of phrases

and unfamiliar words are dealt with fully, and if

possible illustrated either by the teacher or by the

children.

(ii) Pronunciation and Spelling.

As usual, words should be classified according to

sound and special difficulties, and dealt with by the

teacher with the whole class before reading begins.

The vocabulary of the piece is unusually rich and

varied, so each part of the story has been divided into

two to prevent mental indigestion and to give the

teacher time to make the most of the ample material.

Part I Section 1, §§ 1-5.

Section 2, §§ 6-9.

Section 1

(a) money

worth

nothing

town

Section 2

wondered

staring

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 145

Section 1

Section 2

(b) approaching

death

heard

screams

weather

people

(c) cock

unknown

reckon

knight

island

(d) fain

account

steeple

broad

(e) approaching

happened

account

carries

sitting

villages

(f) night

bright

daylight

(g) Unclassified:

scythe

fortune

surely

making

C.E. II.

pleased

wealth

peasant

shoulders

clock

luck

whole

hour

open-mouthed

agreed

voice

willing

marvellous

mightily

likewise

whether

always

natives

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EXERCISES IN

Part II Section 1, §§ 1-4.

Section 2, §§ 5-7.

Section 1

Section 2

(a) others

world

drowned

(b) grievance

shrieking

squeaking

meantime

feasted

buy

reached

besiegers

(c) wretches

gnawed

answered

(d) degree

besought

devoured

counsellors

(e) success

passed

overrun

counsellors

accordingly

pressing

council

(f) mice

danced

palace

since

(g) Unclassified :

luckily

complained

twinkling

public

extremely

thirsty

strange

gathered

together

subjects

fixed

interpreted

herald

therefore

forthwith

moment

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 147

(β) COMPOSITION

Continue for both oral and written work on the lines already fully indicated. The exercises appended will provide plenty of material. Encourage imaginative work; e. g. ask a child to imagine he is the cock on the church steeple, and get him to tell the class what he sees. Let the class write or tell the cat’s story with a different ending. “If I were a mouse” will demand a short autobiography.

(γ) EXPRESSION

(i) Drawing: a scythe, a cock, an ass laden with gold, the castle, a gun.

(ii) Modelling: a scythe, a cat, a cock, a mouse.

EXERCISES. PART I

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt: scythe, approaching, unknown, steeple, villages, knight, carries, screams, weather, mightily, gloriously, wealth, likelihood, shoulders, whole, marvellous.

2. Use adjectives to describe: steeple, island, animal, price, daylight.

3. Write down the plurals of: scythe, ass, church, yourself.

4. Make sentences to describe these objects: steeple, scythe, horse, gold.

B. Illustration on page 53.

1. Where is the old man?

2. Which of the three sons looks the oldest?

3. How is the cock being carried?

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EXERCISES IN

Illustration on page 55.

1. How many people are there in the picture? Who are they?

2. What is the ass carrying?

3. Why do you think the man is holding out his hand?

4. Is it his right hand or his left that he is holding out?

C. Composition.

1. What was the advice of the father to his three sons?

2. Tell the story of the eldest son and the cock.

3. What happened to the second son and his scythe?

4. With what did the eldest son compare the cock? Why?

5. Describe a scythe. For what purpose was it used? What has now taken the place of the scythe?

6. Read what the people of the village said in their description of the cock. How do you think they might have described (a) an owl; (b) a robin?

Exercises. Part II

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : success, overrun, degree, wretches, chairs, grievance, squeaking, gnawed, besought, devoured, subjects, shrieking, council, counsellor.

2. Use adjectives to describe : castle, window, palace, mouse, corn, jewel.

3. What adjectives are formed from : glory, age, luck, wonder, marvel, success?

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 149

4. Fill up the spaces with verbs, telling what the cries of the animals are like :

(a) The cock —.

(b) The cat —.

(c) The horse —.

(d) The cow —.

(e) The mouse —.

5. Write down the plurals of : wretch, mouse, life, castle, cry, tooth.

B. Composition.

1. Describe what happened to the third son and his cat.

2. Why are so many young cats drowned as soon as they are born?

3. Write sentences, containing the following pairs of words :

(a) ass and gold,

(b) scythe and marvellous,

(c) cats and drowned,

(d) palace and guns.

4. Imagine a farm-yard cock and a weather cock having a talk together. Mention some of the things they might talk about.

5. Enclose in brackets the words spoken by the counsellors :

Well, said the counsellors, then we must try what force will do.

6. Now copy out the passage again, and put in “quotes” in place of the brackets.

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EXERCISES IN

7. Write two or three sentences telling what the cat thought when the guns began to fire on the palace.

8. What did the cat reply when she was asked if she were willing to quit the castle?

9. Which of the three brothers would you like to be yourself, and why?

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 151

DUTCH LULLABY

This is one of the exquisite poems which should not be touched by the teacher at all. Let him read it, if he can, to bring out the strange moonlight atmosphere of it ; but the children must do the rest. They will. Above all, no explanations ! Wynken, Blynken and Nod are just what a child makes them; no more, no less. The teacher may rest contented the child will think of them more beautifully and more imaginatively than he can ever do.

EXERCISES

1. Why are the names Wynken, Blynken and Nod especially suitable for the three people who sailed in the wooden shoe ?

2. " Nets of silver and gold have we." " We have nets of silver and gold." Which do you think sounds prettier ?

3. Why does the poem talk of nets " of silver and gold "? Would such nets be good ones in which to catch fish ? [The idea seems to be the use of silver and gold as the metals proper to fairy stories and poems. Cp. " I saw a ship a-sailing," etc.]

4. Why in the first stanza does the poet talk of " herring-fish " instead of merely herring ? [Possibly the repetition of " fish " in the line is meant to imitate the plashing of waves in the evening.]

5. Did Wynken, Blynken and Nod really sail out on the sea ?

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EXERCISES IN

6. The poem should be read aloud and the charmin effect of the short monosyllabic words [Wynk'n, Blymk'n, Nod] at the end brought out. Probably this is an attempt to imitate the motion of the wooden shoe on the short wavelets.

[Readers of Virgil will recall a similar metrical effect in the well-known lines :

(a) Sternitur exanimisque tremens procumbit humi bos [Aen. V. 481].

(b) Dat latus; insequitur cumulo praeruptus aquae mons [Aen. I. 105].

This is a metrical device which can easily be made ridiculous, as in Horace :

Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus [Ars Poetica 139].

7. Why are the stars compared with the herring-fish (stanza 2) ?

8. Can you suggest a reason why the stars were not afraid (stanza 2) ?

9. " For the fish in the twinkling foam " (stanza 3). Substitute " surging " for " twinkling." What effect do we now get ? [The calm sea becomes rough.]

10. In the last stanza the sea is misty. By what word has it been already described in the poem ? Can you suggest a reason for the change ? [In the earlier verses the poet wishes to give the dream the effect of reality : in the last verse he wishes to give the effect of a dream sea, vague and indistinct. Hence misty.]

11. Do you think this poem could be set to music ?

12. The children might be encouraged to make

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 153

up an imaginary dream about a voyage and to tell

their dream to the class.

13. Let them make drawings (a) of the old moon,

(b) of the wooden shoe, with Wynken, Blynken and

Nod.

Illustration on page 60.

1. How is the shoe in the picture different from

one of ours?

2. What has the little fisherman in his hand?

3. What does the face on the left represent?

Illustration on page 62.

1. What can you see through the window?

2. How many shoes can you see in this picture?

3. Each of them has something in it. What is

that something?

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EXERCISES IN

THE STEEPLE TRAP

[This piece is certain to make its appeal at once. It should be read in three portions: (a) The Way to Catch a Squirrel (Part I); (b) The Way to Lose a Squirrel (Parts II and III); (c) The Way to Keep a Squirrel (Parts IV and V). It would be well to read the whole piece before any composition or grammar exercises are attempted.]

(a) Technique of Reading, Pronunciation and Spelling

(i) Technique of Reading.

The chief difficulty will be to get natural reading of the conversational parts. Special attention should be given to the little pieces of “broken” conversation (e.g. § 2), questions (passim) and exclamations (passim). Emphasis will play a large part also (e.g. § 4, “It would be splendid . . .”; § 7, “and that you would find a great trouble.” Show the children the device by which the printer has indicated the word to emphasise in this sentence). Natural reading of conversation will aid natural reading of narrative.

(ii) Pronunciation and Spelling.

The procedure should be as in “Snow-drop,” “The Cranes” and “The Giant’s Heart.” By the time this piece is read (it should be late in the year) the children should have learnt to classify words

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 155

as suggested in the notes to those three pieces.

Let them, therefore, make the classification them-

selves in this piece.

Even then there will be certain words which must

be treated specially for pronunciation and spelling.

A suggested list is given :

wigwam

exactly

regularly

distance

imprisoned

promise

squirrel

different

nibble

clambering

remember

observed

raspberries

Doubtless these words will present difficulties, but

they will provide both teacher and pupil something

to " bite on," and the result will be found to justify

the time and interest bestowed on them. Divide

the words into syllables : the children will have

learnt enough of phonetics in earlier years to enable

them to build up the sounds. Actual writing or

script-printing of the words from the book or from

the black-board will make the necessary impression

on the eye; and the explanations of the meanings

(see under Vocabulary) will be a further aid to spell-

ing. Such words as " surprise " and " pleasure "

will have come, probably, into the children's classified

list. " Raspberries " might be placed beside a word

like " cupboard," where the b and the p have had

a fight and the b won ! Any such fancies will

brighten the lesson and help to detract from what

dreariness is inevitable. Do not hesitate to use

them again and again, whenever they occur to you.

They are the salt of the spelling-lesson.

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EXERCISES IN

(β) Composition

[See the notes on Oral and Written Composition for "The Cranes." Insist on proper sentences, spoken and written, and on plan. The actual divisions of the story as printed will impress on the children the idea of plan.]

Suggestions for Special Treatment in this piece

Get the children to point out that the story contains four main facts :

(i) Rollo and James long for the squirrel.

(ii) The squirrel caught in the trap.

(iii) The squirrel's first escape.

(iv) The squirrel's second escape with dyed fur.

[This division is, of course, merely suggested : the teacher will follow any similar outline of his own.]

After a little adroit questioning, the class should quite readily give these (or similar) headings for the main points of the story, i. e. the points they would remember. Show them that much of the story, as it is told, is written to interest them, that it is not a necessity, e. g. Part II, § 5. Give some kind of analogy—the ornaments on a pillar, etc. Liken a story such as this to a tract of land with valleys and mountains : it would be much more interesting than the high flat table-land or the wide plain.

A story is interesting when it has mountain peaks.

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 157

A story is not so interesting when it is one flat table-land.

Give the class practice in picking out and distinguishing the “mountain peaks” of a story. Take, e. g., some of the other stories in this book; or tell the story of Red Riding Hood or of Cinderella, with as much descriptive detail as possible.

This piece will furnish some good examples for the use of “quotes” (i. e. inverted commas). It is a good idea to allow the children to put a bracket round the actual words spoken (somewhat after the fashion of some French printed texts). The bracket will probably seem more natural to children than the usual quotes.

(γ) Vocabulary and Grammar

Many words will need explanation. Some, like wigwam (I, § 1, etc.), dollar (I, § 4), are peculiarly American and will require special notice. Others are rather difficult English words for which simple synonyms should, if possible, be found. A few are given, with suggested treatment, which should serve as a hint for others.

Part II, § 7, aqueduct. “Water-carrier.” The class will be interested in the two Latin words aqua = water; duco = I lead, carry (from which we get our word duke). Cp. also “viaduct” (Lat. via = a way, road).

158

EXERCISES IN

Part III. Be sure that the children know all strange words as used in their context. Some of the more difficult words may, after simple explanation, be left at that to a second or a third reading of the text. The important thing is that at the first reading the general sense should be clear.

In connection with this piece, take Adjectives. Explain adjectives simply as "colouring-words": they are like the colour in a picture. Use coloured chalks when explaining your examples on the black-board. Show on the black-board how an adjective describes a noun (with pictures); e.g.

Ruler.

Broken ruler.

In the same way the children will be able to draw little pictures illustrating adjective-noun combinations in the piece. It is quite a good idea to draw pictures of common objects on the black-board, and ask the class to give suitable colouring-words.

[See, further, exercises on the use of the adjective.]

(δ) EXPRESSION

(i) Pictures.

(ii) Dramatisation.

(iii) Handwork. Modelling of squirrel, etc.

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 159

Exercises. Part I

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : cousin, surprise, pleasure, axe, squirrel, clambering, raspberries, climb, succession, weight, eagerly, delighted, night, imprisoned, boasting, nibble, observed, distinctly.

2. Place suitable adjectives before each of these nouns : axe, squirrel, branches, cage, trouble.

3. From what nouns are these adjectives formed : delighted, splendid, boastful, pleasant?

4. What other words could be used in place of : suddenly, at a little distance, in succession, regularly, a little ashamed, finally, distinctly?

B. Illustration on p. 63.

1. Where do you think the squirrel is? Can you see it?

2. What is the nearer of the two boys doing?

3. What is the other boy doing?

4. What is the name in the text for what we would call the tent?

C. Composition.

1. Write one or two sentences about each of the following :

(a) an axe; (b) a raspberry; (c) a cage.

2. Describe what the squirrel was doing when first seen by the boys.

3. Find two words in this part of the story which show that the scene of the story is not England.

4. Why do you think Jonas was older than Rollo?

5. Describe the steeple trap. Make a drawing to show what you think it is like.

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EXERCISES IN

Exercises. Part II

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : whether, faithful, obedient, faults, cured, excellent, trustworthy, business, purpose, chamber, silently, caught, safely, parlour, building, cities, channel, aqueduct, adjusted, silence, believe, capering, accidentally, enough.

2. What adjectives in the text are placed before these nouns : boy, faults, purpose, corner, channel ?

3. Look at these words, safely (§ 5), accidentally (§ 8). They tell us how an action is done. Find other examples from the text.

4. What other words could be used in place of : obedient, trustworthy, nibbling, parlour, aqueduct, adjusted ?

B. Illustration on p. 69.

1. In the last picture there were only two boys : in this one there are three. Why is this ?

2. What is the word in the text for that which Jonas is holding in his hand ? What do we call it ?

3. What are the names of the two boys on the right ?

C. Composition.

1. What are (i) an aqueduct; (ii) a spy-glass; (iii) a dipper ?

2. Write a sentence about Rome.

3. Tell the class how a sand castle is built.

4. Oh, then we have caught him, said the boys, capering about. Let us go and see.

Enclose the actual words of the boys in brackets, and then rewrite with quotes.

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 161

Exercises. Part III

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt: eagerly, listened, shining, prisoner, contrive, garret, useless, recollected, temporary, shingles, rattling, spindle, cautiously, entirely, exposed, rogue, submitting, surrounded, kernels, squeeze, leisurely, escaped, exclaimed, ascended, scaffold, disappeared, glimpse, laugh, remained, unsprung, delighted.

2. What other words could be used instead of: contrive, recollected, temporary, cautiously, exposed to view, leisurely, ascended, glimpse?

3. What words have the opposite meanings to: useless, old, carefully, open, forward, slender, leisurely, delighted?

B. Illustration on p. 75.

1. What name is given to the room shown in this picture?

2. What is this room used for?

3. What can you see hanging up?

4. Notice how surprised the boy on the left seems to be.

Illustration on p. 76.

1. Which of the two boys is Jonas? How do you know?

2. Who is the other boy, and what is he doing?

C. Composition.

1. By what other names is the squirrel called in this part of the story?

2. Tell how Jonas made the cage.

3. Describe how the squirrel escaped.

C.E. II.

L

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EXERCISES IN

Exercises. Part IV

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : contrived, tighten, weaving, secure, earnest, promises, occasionally, adopted, tie, gnaw, collar, difficulty, branch, judge, dye, dyeing, vinegar, bowl, decided, apparatus, liberated, operation, easily.

2. What adjectives are used in the text with these nouns : cage, colours, promises, squirrel, ribbon, nails ?

3. What are the plurals of : box, penknife, dye, bowl, day ?

4. What other words might be used for : limits, excellent, adopted, occasionally ?

B. Composition.

1. Why was Jonas called a clever boy ?

2. Write two or three sentences about (a) a penknife; (b) a pair of gloves; (c) a squirrel's tail.

3. What different plans were proposed to help the boys to tell their squirrel from others ?

4. Write sentences containing the following pairs of words :

(a) gloves and bite,

(b) wires and cage,

(c) dye and wood.

Exercises. Part V

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt : walked, bushes, reached, edge, frighten, unfastening, anxiously, retreated, soothing, cautiously, excited, suppress, delight, gradu-

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 163

ally, situation, twisted, walnut, leathern, twitch, spattering, aghast, neighbouring, continued, leopard, serious, ashamed, warrant, attention, entirely, business, ensuing.

2. Place suitable adjectives before these nouns : colour, winter, bite, tree, dye.

3. What other words might be used instead of : intruding, soothing, cautiously, suppress, startled, spattering, aghast?

4. What words have the opposite meanings to : sometimes, smooth, still, retreated, slowly, delight, powerful?

B. Composition.

1. Tell the class the story of the attempt to dye the squirrel's tail.

2. Why did Jonas propose to call the squirrel Leopard?

3. Write a few sentences to describe (a) the appearance, (b) the habits, of a squirrel.

4. Imagine you are a squirrel. Tell the story of your life in the woods.

5. Tell as though you were the squirrel what you thought and did when the boys tried to dye your coat.

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EXERCISES IN

DAME DUCK

This must be read with spirit, especially in the conversational parts. Try to be imitative and allow the children to be so in their reading. A narrative poem like this should make a good recitation. It will be well to concentrate on that side of it.

EXERCISES

1. What colour contrast have we got in stanzas 1 and 2 ? [In stanza 1 the colours are mentioned; in 2 (except for green) they are implied.]

2. What did the old Duck use to line her nest ? Do you know of any other creatures that line their nests ? What substances do they use ?

3. In stanza 5 what other words could you use instead of peered and scrambled ? Do you think your words are as good as those used in the poem ? Why ?

4. Would it be correct to say chickens waddle ? Why not ?

5. What name is given to a young duck ? [Com-pare nestling, gosling, etc.]

6. If the ducklings followed their mother's teaching with regard to walking, what word would you use to describe them ? [Clumsy.]

7. Ditto with regard to their food ? [Greedy.]

8. Could you change the words snap in stanza 11 and peck in stanza 13 ? Why not ?

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 165

9. Let a child tell the class, as though he were a duckling, a story on "A day of my life."

10. Let the children illustrate with drawings in chalks

(a) "Water-lilies float" (stanza 2),

(b) "All waddling in a row" (stanza 10),

(c) "You'd better get into the dish" (stanza 14).

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EXERCISES IN

THE FOX AND THE CROW

(a) TECHNIQUE OF READING AND SPELLING

This will be a good opportunity for some straight-forward reading, the only conversational break being the fox's speech to the crow (in which the children should be led to bring out the fox's cunning).

If practicable, let each child read the whole piece himself : that will help his expression.

Spelling.

Classification, as outlined in other pieces.

Pronunciation.

Words like beauty, comfortably, plumage, delicate, will need attention.

(β) COMPOSITION

This, with others of Æsop's fables which may be read to the class, should be re-told and re-written in the children's own words. Other very short fables may be read once or twice, in order that reproduction should test children's retentive powers.

(γ) VOCABULARY

Explanation of words, as in other pieces. Synonyms for branch ; comfortably ; beauty ; plumage ; delicate (explain " delicate white " carefully). With the phrases " settled herself comfortably." " it was immediately snapped up," make the basis for some work on adverbs (words which " colour " action-words).

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 167

(δ) Expression

(i) The teacher might give a little talk on Æsop, and explain fable.

(ii) Drawing.

The children will be able to picture the whole fable.

(iii) Dramatisation.

Other Fox stories might help. Refer to “Reynard the Fox,” ed. Treble. Macmillan & Co.

EXERCISES

A. Words.

1. Words to be learnt: piece, cheese, creature, appearance, doubts, plumage, voice, excited, fidget, wriggle, decided.

2. Give at least three words that would describe: (a) a crow; (b) a fox.

3. Give the words that mean the opposite of: delicate, beautiful, underneath, praise, gained, force.

B. Composition.

1. Explain the meanings of these words: doubts, perfection, flattery, craft, force, plumage.

2. Tell the story as though you were (a) the fox; (b) the crow.

3. What do you think the crow said when it lost its cheese?

4. Tell the story as though you were the fox telling it to his wife.

5. The fox is called “cunning.” What word could be used to describe the crow?

6. What is the difference between “flattery” and

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EXERCISES IN

" praise "? Write a sentence containing each word correctly used.

7. By what other words is the piece of cheese called in the fable?

8. Think of a suitable motto for this fable.

9. Do you know of any fable where a cunning plan, laid by one animal to catch another, failed? [Refer to " The Sick Lion." ]

10. What was it in the fable of " The Sick Lion " that made the fox suspicious?

11. Is there anything in the fox's speech that might have made the crow suspicious?

12. Re-write this fable as though the fox's plan had failed.

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 169

MARCH

In the actual reading, the insistence will be on the double rimes. Try to interpret, through the reading, the joy of spring, especially the windy joy of March. Attempt, by some skilful questioning, to get the children to appreciate the word-pictures : "Like an army defeated . . ."; "There are forty feeding like one." If possible the poem should be read in March. Read to the class also such a poem of joy as Browning's "The year's at the spring" (from Pippa Passes), and quote Shakespeare's

Daffodils,

That come before the swallow dares, and take

The winds of March with beauty.

It may be the wind and the daffodils will sum up to the child the idea of March : and in this connexion Wordsworth's Daffodils might be read (though with care; i. e. insist on the dancing of the daffodils, and try to ignore the spiritual part—that particularly Wordsworthian smugness that ruins this poem with a great deal of his other poetry).

EXERCISES

1. After reading this poem, try to suggest another title.

2. "The oldest and youngest

Are at work with the strongest."

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EXERCISES IN

Try to give the meaning of these lines in about half-a-dozen words.

3. What idea does the poet wish to convey in the last line of the first stanza?

4. To what does the poet, in the second stanza, liken the thawing of snow?

5. What does "whooping" mean? Might the poet have said "crying" or "saying"?

6. Let the children illustrate each of the two stanzas in chalks or paints.

LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION 171

A LOBSTER QUADRILLE

Here we have a racy, humorous poem, full of lilting rhythm. Bring this out to the full in the concluding lines of each stanza. The effect might be produced on the piano. The whole poem should be read with a swing, so that the children appreciate the fun of it all. This poem and “Dutch Lullaby” have been set to music by Rev. P. E. Hughes, M.A., Mus.B. (Oxford Press).

[In connection with this poem, selections should be read from The Walrus and the Carpenter ; and there might be a little talk on Lewis Carroll, with a reading of some of the quaintest extracts from Alice in Wonderland.]

EXERCISES

1. About what two creatures is this poem written?

2. What other strange pairs did Lewis Carroll write poems about? Why do you think he chose such remarkable pairs to write about?

3. By what other name is the whiting called in the poem?

4. Why do you think the snail did not wish to join the dance?

5. Read the poem, laying stress on the accented syllables. Show how this imitates the sound of the feet moving in a dance. Cp. the galloping sound in How they brought the Good News, or in Young Lochinvar.

6. What do you call a poem like this, which is so highly improbable? [A nonsense poem.]

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EXERCISES

Do you know any other poem like this? [Read

The Walrus and the Carpenter and The Jabberwock,

and explain that they are all written by the same

author.]

7. What do you notice about the last two lines in

each verse? Do you know what name is given to

lines like these repeated at the end of each verse?

8. Explain the meaning of Quadrille.

ADDITIONAL POEMS

173

THE GRASSHOPPER AND CRICKET

[See "Robin Redbreast," p. 51.]

Green little vaulter in the sunny grass,

Catching your heart up at the feel of June,

Sole voice that's heard amidst the lazy noon,

When even the bees lag at the summoning brass :

And you, warm little housekeeper, who class

With those who think the candles come too soon,

Loving the fire, and with your tricksome tune

Nick the glad silent moments as they pass;

O sweet and tiny cousins, that belong,

One to the fields, the other to the hearth,

Both have your sunshine; both, though small, are strong

At your clear hearts; and both seem given to earth

To ring in thoughtful ears this natural song :

In doors and out, summer and winter,—Mirth.

J. H. Leigh Hunt.

THE GRASSHOPPER AND CRICKET

The poetry of earth is never dead :

When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,

And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run

From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;

That is the Grasshopper's—he takes the lead

In summer luxury,—he has never done

With his delights, for when tired out with fun,

He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.

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ADDITIONAL POEMS

The poetry of earth is ceasing never :

On a lone winter evening, when the frost

Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills

The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,

And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,

The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.

J. KEATS.

GOOD NIGHT [See "Bed-Time," p. 13.]

Little baby, lay your head

On your pretty cradle-bed;

Shut your eye-peeps, now the day

And the light are gone away;

All the clothes are tucked in tight;

Little baby dear, good night.

Yes, my darling, well I know

How the bitter wind doth blow;

And the winter's snow and rain

Patter on the window-pane :

But they cannot come in here,

To my little baby dear.

For the window shutteth fast,

Till the stormy night is past;

And the curtains warm are spread

Round about her cradle-bed :

So till morning shineth bright,

Little baby dear, good night !

A. and J. TAYLOR.

ADDITIONAL POEMS

175

THREE MEN OF GOTHAM

[See " A Lobster Quadrille," p. 93.]

" Seamen three! What men be ye? "

—" Gotham's three wise men we be."

—" Whither in your bowl so free? "

—" To rake the moon from out the sea.

The bowl goes trim. The moon doth shine.

And our ballast is old wine."—

—" And your ballast is old wine."

" Who art thou, so fast adrift? "

—" I am he they call Old Care."

—" Here on board we will thee lift."—

—" No : I may not enter there."

—" Wherefore so? "—" 'Tis Jove's decree,

In a bowl Care may not be,

In a bowl Care may not be."

—" Fear ye not the waves that roll? "

—" No : in charméd bowl we swim."

—" What the charm that floats the bowl? "

—" Water may not pass the brim.

The bowl goes trim. The moon doth shine.

And our ballast is old wine."—

—" And your ballast is old wine."

T. L. PEACOCK.

176

ADDITIONAL POEMS

MAY-TIME

'Tis Spring ! 'tis Spring ! all creatures know it,

The skies, the earth, the waters show it,

The freckled snakes come out i' the sun,

The leverets race in the meadows green;

The sleep of the little dormouse is done,

And the frisking squirrel again is seen !

Come, come who will,

Let us take our fill

Of delight in the valley, the field, the hill :

Let us go to the wood, that so late was still;

The air is ringing

With singing, with singing !

There's a sound of joy in the youthful Spring—

Hark ! Hark !

There sings the lark !

Why tarry we yet? let's go !

The strong lamb boundeth,—

The glad foal neighs;

And joy resoundeth

A thousand ways—

Over hill and valley, and wood and plain,

Joy poureth down like a shower of rain !

I'll tarry no more ! come, come, let's go !

MARY HOWITT.