Story Hour Readings: Seventh Year Part 37

Over their heads I'll sail like an eagle; I'll balance myself on my wings like a sea gull; I'll dance on the chimbleys; I'll stand on the steeple; 10 I'll flop up to winders an' scare the people!

I'll light on the liberty pole an' crow; An' I'll say to the gawpin' fools below, 'What world's this 'ere That I've come near?' 15 Fer I'll make 'em b'lieve I'm a chap f'm the moon; An' I'll try a race 'ith their ol' balloon!"

He crept from his bed, And seeing the others were gone, he said: "I'm a gittin' over the cold 'n my head." 20 And away he sped, To open the wonderful box in the shed.

His brothers had walked but a little way, When Jotham to Nathan chanced to say, "What is the feller up to, hey?" 25 "Don'o',--the' 's suthin' er other to pay, Er he wouldn't 'a' stayed to hum to-day."

Says Burke, "His toothache's all 'n his eye!

_He_ never'd miss a Fo'th o' July, Ef he hedn't got some machine to try." 30 Then Sol, the little one, spoke: "By darn!

Le's hurry back an' hide 'n the barn, An' pay him fer tellin' us that yarn!"

"Agreed!" Through the orchard they creep back, Along by the fences, behind the stack, 5 And one by one, through a hole in the wall, In under the dusty barn they crawl, Dressed in their Sunday garments all.

And a very astonis.h.i.+ng sight was that, When each in his cobwebbed coat and hat 10 Came up through the floor like an ancient rat.

And there they hid; And Reuben slid The fastenings back, and the door undid.

"Keep dark!" said he, 15 "While I squint an' see what the' is to see."

As knights of old put on their mail,-- From head to foot An iron suit, Iron jacket and iron boot, 20 Iron breeches, and on the head No hat, but an iron pot instead, And under the chin the bail (I believe they called the thing a helm); And, thus accoutered, they took the field, 25 Sallying forth to overwhelm The dragons and pagans that plagued the realm,-- So this modern knight Prepared for flight, Put on his wings and strapped them tight,-- Jointed and jaunty, strong and light,-- Buckled them fast to shoulder and hip,-- Ten feet they measured from tip to tip!

And a helm had he, but that he wore, 5 Not on his head, like those of yore, But more like the helm of a s.h.i.+p.

"Hus.h.!.+" Reuben said, "He's up in the shed!

He's opened the winder,--I see his head! 10 He stretches it out, An' pokes it about, Lookin' to see 'f the coast is clear, An' n.o.body near;-- Guess he don'o' who's hid in here! 15 He's riggin' a springboard over the sill!

Stop laffin', Solomon! Burke, keep still!

He's climbin' out now. Of all the things!

What's he got on? I van, it's wings!

An' that t'other thing? I vum, it's a tail!

An' there he sets like a hawk on a rail! 20 Steppin' careful, he travels the length Of his springboard, and teeters to try its strength.

"Now he stretches his wings like a monstrous bat; Peeks over his shoulder, this way an' that, 25 Fer to see 'f the' 's anyone pa.s.sin' by; But the' 's on'y a ca'f an' a goslin' nigh.

_They_ turn up at him a wonderin' eye, To see--the dragon! he's goin' to fly!

Away he goes! Jiminy! what a jump!

Flop--flop--an' plump To the ground with a thump, Flutt'rin' an' flound'rin', all 'n a lump!"

As a demon is hurled by an angel's spear, 5 Heels over head, to his proper sphere, Heels over head, and head over heels, Dizzily down the abyss he wheels,-- So fell Darius. Upon his crown, In the midst of the barnyard, he came down, 10 In a wonderful whirl of tangled strings, Broken braces and broken springs, Broken tail and broken wings, Shooting stars and various things, Barnyard litter of straw and chaff. 15 Away with a bellow fled the calf, And what was that? Did the gosling laugh?

'Tis a merry roar From the old barn door, And he hears the voice of Jotham crying, 20 "Say, D'rius! how do you like flyin'?"

Slowly, ruefully, where he lay, Darius just turned and looked that way, As he stanched his sorrowful nose with his cuff.

"Wall, I like flyin' well enough," 25 He said, "but the' ain't sich a awful sight O' fun in't when ye come to light."

_Moral_

I just have room for the moral here: And this is the moral,--Stick to your sphere.

Or, if you insist, as you have the right, On spreading your wings for a loftier flight, The moral is,--Take care how you light. 5

1. Tell the story of Icarus and Daedalus. Compare Darius's flying machine with a modern airplane.

When and by whom was the airplane perfected as a practical flyer?

2. How much of the story is told from Darius's standpoint? Through whose eyes do we see the rest?

3. Describe Darius. Is he really a clever lad? Why do we laugh at his experiment?

4. The poem is written partially in dialect.

Explain what "dialect" is. What other poems do you know that are in dialect?

5. J. T. Trowbridge (1827-1916) was a clever American writer of verse and fiction, chiefly boys'

books. Can you find anything of interest about him?

AUNT DOLEFUL'S VISIT

How do you do, Cornelia? I heard you were sick, and I stepped in to cheer you up a little. My friends often say, "It's such a comfort to see you, Aunt Doleful.

You have such a flow of conversation, and are _so_ lively."

Besides, I said to myself as I came up the stairs, "Perhaps 5 it's the last time I'll ever see Cornelia Jane alive."

_You don't mean to die yet, eh?_ Well, now, how do you know? You can't tell. You think you are getting better; but there was poor Mrs. Jones sitting up, and everyone saying how smart she was, and all of a sudden she was taken 10 with spasms in the heart and went off like a flash.

But you must be careful and not get anxious or excited.

Keep quite calm and don't fret about anything. Of course things can't go just as if you were downstairs; and I wondered whether you knew your little Billy was sailing about in a tub on the mill pond, and that your little Sammy 5 was letting your little Jimmy down from the veranda roof in a clothes basket.

Goodness! what's the matter? I guess Providence'll take care of them. Don't look so. You thought Bridget was watching them? Well, no, she isn't. I saw her talking 10 to a man at the gate. He looked to me like a burglar.

No doubt she let him take the impression of the door key in wax, and then he'll get in and murder you all. There was a family at Murray Hill all killed last week.

How is Mr. Kobble? Well, but finds it warm in town, eh? 15 Well, I should think he would. They are dropping down by hundreds there with sunstroke. You must prepare your mind to have him brought home any day. Anyhow, a trip on these railroad trains is just risking your life every time you take one. Back and forth every day as he is, 20 is just trifling with danger.

Scarlet fever has broken out in the village, Cornelia.

Little Isaac Potter has it, and I saw your Jimmy playing with him last Sat.u.r.day.

Well, I must be going now. I've got another sick 25 friend, and I sha'n't consider my duty done unless I cheer her up a little before I sleep. You don't look so well as you did when I came in. But if anything happens, send for me at once. If I can't do anything else, I can cheer you up a little.

1. This is an old, favorite recitation. What do you think of this type of humor as compared with Mark Twain's?

GRADGRIND'S IDEA OF EDUCATION

BY CHARLES d.i.c.kENS

Thomas Gradgrind was proud of himself. He was a "self-made" man who attributed his own successes in life to his mastery of Facts. He is here represented as officially testing a school upon its knowledge of his favorite Facts.

"Now what I want is Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon Facts; nothing else will ever be of any service to them. This is the principle on which I bring up my own 5 children. Stick to Facts, sir; nothing but Facts."

The speaker, and the schoolmaster, and the third grown person present, all backed a little and swept with their eyes the inclined plane of little vessels then and there arranged in order, ready to have gallons of facts poured into them 10 until they were full to the brim.

Thomas Gradgrind, sir. A man of realities. A man of facts and calculations. A man who proceeds upon the principle that two and two are four and nothing over, and who is not to be talked into allowing for anything over. 15 Thomas Gradgrind, sir, with a rule and a pair of scales and the multiplication table always in his pocket, sir, ready to weigh and measure any parcel of human nature and tell you exactly what it comes to.