HAMMER AND SAW AND PLANE
Once there was a carpenter. He had built himself a fine new house. And now it was all done. The walls, the floors and the roof were done. The stairs were done. The windows and doors were done. And the carpenter had moved into his new house.
In his house he had a stove and he had electric lights. He had beds and chairs and bureaus and bookcases. He had everything except a table to eat off of. He still had to stand up when he ate his meals!
So the carpenter thought he would make him a table. But he had no lumber left. So off he went to the lumber mill. At the lumber mill he saw lots and lots of lumber piled in the yard. The carpenter told the man at the lumber mill just how much lumber he wanted and just how long he wanted it and how broad he wanted it and how thick he wanted it.
So the man at the lumber mill put all this lumber,—just what the carpenter had ordered,—on a wagon and sent it out to the carpenter’s house.
And then the carpenter began. He said to himself, “First I must make my boards just the right length.” So he measured a board just as long as he wanted the top to be; then he put the board on a sawhorse and he took his saw and began to saw:
“Zzzu,” went the saw,
“Zzzu, zzzu, zzzu.”
The sawdust flew
The saw ripped through
Down dropped the board sawed right in two.
And then the carpenter took another board and he measured this just the same length. Then he put this board on the sawhorse and he took the saw and began to saw:
“Zzzu,” went the saw,
“Zzzu, zzzu, zzzu.”
The sawdust flew
The saw ripped through
Down dropped the board sawed right in two.
And then the carpenter took still another board and “Zzzu,” went the saw until this board too was sawed right in two. Then he had enough for the top of the table. Then he took the pieces that were going to make the legs and he sawed four of them just the right length. Then he sawed the boards that were going to be the braces until they too were just the right length. And underneath his sawhorse there was a little pile of sawdust.
Then after this the carpenter says to himself, “I must make my boards smooth.” So he puts a board in the vise and he begins to plane the board.
The plane he guides
The plane it glides
It smooths, it slides
All over the sides.
And when this board is all smooth, the carpenter takes it out of the vise and puts in another board. Then he takes his plane.
The plane he guides
The plane it glides
It smooths, it slides
All over the sides.
And then the carpenter takes still another board and he guides and slides the plane until this board too is all smooth. And he does this until all the boards that are going to make the top and the legs and the braces are all smooth. And underneath his bench there is a pile of shavings.
And then the carpenter he says to himself, “I must nail my boards together.” So he puts the boards that are going to make the top together and he takes a nail and then he swings his hammer:
The hammer it gives a swinging pound.
The nail it gives a ringing sound.
Bing! bang! bing! bing!
And the boards are tight together!
And then the carpenter takes another piece of the top and puts it beside the other two and he takes another nail and then he swings his hammer again.
The hammer it gives a swinging pound.
The nail it gives a ringing sound.
Bing! bang! bing! bing!
And the boards are tight together!
And then the carpenter takes one piece that is going to be a leg and he holds it so it stands right out from the top, and he takes another nail and he nails the leg to the top. Bing! bang! bing! bing! He does this with the other three legs of his table. And then he has four strong legs and the top of his table all nailed together.
Then the carpenter he says to himself, “I’ll put some boards across and make it stronger.” So he takes some boards sawed just the right length, and he nails them across underneath the top, bing! bang! bing! bing! And then he has a table!
So the carpenter lifts his table out into the middle of his room and he puts a chair beside it. When he sits down he is smiling all over. For the table is just the right size and just the right height and it is strong and good to look at. The carpenter is so glad to have a table to eat off of that he says to himself:
“Now isn’t it grand?
I won’t have to stand
While eating my dinner again!
For now I am able
To sit at the table
I made with saw, hammer and plane!”
THE ELEPHANT
This was written with the help of eight-year-old children who were trying to make everything sound “heavy” and “slow.”