A CHAPTER ABOUT CHILDREN,

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIV, Issue 51, 23 April 1897, Page 27

A CHAPTER ABOUT CHILDREN,

" You have quizzed me often and puzzled me long ; You have asked me to cipher and spell ; You have called me a dolt if I answered wrong, Or a dunce if I failed to tell Just when to say lie and when to say lay, Or what nine-sevenths may make, Or the longitude of Kamtschatka bay, Or the I-forget-what's-its-name lake. So I think it's about my turn, I do, To ask a question or so of you." The schoolmaster grim he opened his eyes, But he said not a word from sheer surprise. Can you tell what ' phen-dubs ' means .' I can. Can you say all off by heart The ' onery, twoery, hickory ann ! ' Or tell ' commons ' and • alleys ' apart ? Can you fling a top. I would like to know, Till it hums like a bumble bee .' Can you make a kite yourself that will go Most as higrh as the eye can see, Till it sails and soars, like a hawk on the wing, And the little birds come and light on the string ? The schoolmaster looked, oh very demure, But his. mouth was twitching, I'm almost sure. " Can you tell where the nest of the oriole swings, Or the colour its eggs may be ? Do you know the time when the squirrel brings Its young from their nest in the tree ? Can you tell when the chestnuts are ready to drop Or where the best hazel-nuts grow / Can you climb a high tree to the very tip top, And gaze, without trembling, below / Can you swim and dive, can you jump and run, Or do anything else we boys call fun ?" The master's voice trembled, as he replied, " You are right, my lad, I'm the dunce," he sighed.

— E. J. Wheeler.