After that, Mr. Burnham took her all the way home himself. Her elder sisters went into the drawing-room to see him, and Poppet slipped away. He told them what the child had done, and praised her high courage and simple faith. " If," he said, as he took his leave, " if all boys had such sisters as little Poppet is, my school would be a better place, and later, the world."- Ethel Turner
Author.-Ethel Turner (Mrs. H. B. Curlewis), an Australian writer, born in Yorkshire in 1872. Came to Australia in 1881; educated at the Girls" High School, Sydney. She has published many books, among the best known of which are Seven Little Australians, The Family at Misrule, The Little Larrikin, Miss Bobbie, Three Little Maids, and Little Mother Meg.
General Notes.-List the characters in this story and put a briefdescription against each. What evidences did Poppet give of trust, affection, and courage? Why did the boys cheer?
Make a play from this story.
Lesson 17
THE JumBLIES
They went to sea in a sieve, they did, In a sieve they went to sea;In spite of all their friends could say,
On a winter"s morn, on a stormy day,
In a sieve they went to sea!
And, when the sieve turned round and round, And every one cried, " You"ll all be drowned !" They called aloud, " Our sieve isn"t big,But we don"t care a button! We don"t care a fig!
In a sieve we"ll go to sea!"
Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a sieve.
They sailed away in a sieve, they did, In a sieve they sailed so fast,With only a beautiful pea-green veil Tied with a ribbon, by way of a sail, To a small tobacco-pipe mast;And every one said, that saw them go, "Oh, won"t they be soon upset, you know! For the sky is dark, and the voyage is long,And, happen what may, it"s extremely wrong
In a sieve to sail so fast!" Far and few, far and few,Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a sieve.
They sailed to the Western Sea, they did, To a land all covered with trees,And they bought an owl, and a useful cart, And a pound of rice, and a cranberry tart,And a hive of silvery bees.
And they bought a pig, and some green jackdaws, And a lovely monkey with lollipop paws,And forty bottles of ring-bo-ree, And no end of Stilton cheese.
Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a sieve.
And in twenty years they all came back,
In twenty years or more.
And every one said, " How tall they"ve grown!
For they"ve been to the Lakes, and the Terrible Zone,And the hills of the Chankly Bore";
And they drank their health, and gave them a feast Of dumplings made of beautiful yeast;And every one said, " If we only live, We too will go to sea in a sieve-To the hills of the Chankly Bore!" Far and few, far and few,Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a sieve.
- Edward Lear
Author.-Edward Lear (1812-1888), English artist and writer, was born in London. He spent many years painting landscapes in Italy and other Mediterranean countries. He wrote and illustrated travel books, but is best known for his books of nonsense rhymes for children.
General Notes.-Which verse contains the most nonsense? Whichverse do you like best? Can you give any reasons for the popularity of this poem? Are some people in any way like the Jumblies? Do you know any other nonsense rhymes?
Suggestions for Verse-speaking.-First divide each verse into threeparts-the first part contains five lines and the last part makes a chorus. Let half the class say the first part, the other half the second part, and the whole class the chorus part.
Lesson 18
THE yOuNGSTER
The mail did not come the day it was due. It was due on three days a week, and Saturday was one of them. The local river was in flood, and, although they could still cross the bridge, there was a nasty billabong or backwater this side of it, up which it flowed, very swift and silent. It was simple enough to look at-just a smooth, swift-flowing, muddy drain-from the bank; but crossing might have been an awkward job.
That was clearly why the mail-man did not arrive on Saturday. He must have decided it was not good enough to cross. The billabong had subsided on Sunday, and then the mail-man came out.
The " mail-coach" was a sulky-that is to say, a light vehicle with two wheels and one horse, the commonest sort of trap in Australian towns. Back in the bush they favour buggies rather than sulkies, partly because, having four wheels, a buggy is less liable to be upset by bumping into a stump. However, the contractor for His Majesty"s mail on these small circuits does not necessarily run even to a buggy; we more than once found that the advertised coachwas a sulky.
The coach came out on Sunday, and in it was a boy of ten, or perhaps twelve-he looked about six. It was he who had decided it was not worth while chancing the billabong the day before, and had put it off for the day. The local races were on-probably he spent the afternoon there instead. He was the mail-man.
Drawn by Allan T.Bernaldo
"The mail-coach was a sulky."
