PRESENTATION
Now I shall read you a little poem about a brook. (Read with emphasis, even with slight exaggeration.) Now, where did this brook begin? In "a fountain".
What is that? A spring of water.
Where was the fountain? "In a mountain".
What is that? A high hill.
Was it very large where it started? No, the lesson says it was only "Drops of water" and it trickled "through the grasses".
What does it mean by "Trickling through the grasses"? It means that there was so little of it that the blades of grass seemed almost to check its source.
Did it run very fast at first? No, the lesson says that it "started" "Slow".
Did it run any faster after that? Yes, "Soon it darted", and it was "Hurrying".
What caused it to dart and hurry? The ground was steeper, and it had to run more quickly.
Where was it running? Down "to the sea", where it would be lost in the other water.
Did it grow any larger before it came to the sea? Yes, it grew "Swift and strong", and it widened "very fast".
What caused it to widen? Other little brooks ran into it and made it wider.
Now, the brook is said to be like a person. Can you point out any words that make you think it was like a person? Yes, it hurries just as children hurry.
In the next stanza, the lesson says it was "Glad". Why was it glad? It was glad that the "Children" came to play on its banks.
Yes, it felt just as you feel when your friends come over to your house to play. Do you see any other words that make you think it is like a person? Yes, it is "Swift and strong and happy". It rushes and it sings.
What is it like now? It is like a big, strong, happy boy.
Why did the children come to play on its banks? They came to pick the flowers.
What line shows you that? "Blossoms floating." The children picked the flowers and threw some on the stream to watch the current carry them away.
What else were the children doing? They were sailing toy boats in the water.
What words show you that? "Mimic boating."
What else did the children enjoy? They liked to see the "Fishes darting past" them. The fishes were timid.
The brook makes some very pleasant sounds. What words show you that? "Rippling", "Bubbling", "singing", "ringing".
When does the water make these sounds? When it is running "over pebbles" or down the steep places.
You must fancy you hear the brook make its gentle music when it is running over the pebbles. What does the water look like when it ripples? It is not smooth; it has tiny waves upon it.
You have heard the water bubble and gurgle, and then, when the stream grows large and runs faster, you can hear it "singing" and "ringing" in the distance. The poet tells us some pretty things about the brook. Tell me some of them. It was "Cool and clear and free".
Why was it "Cool"? It had flowed among the grasses and had come from a spring in a mountain.
Why was it "clear"? It was such pure water that you could see the stones at the bottom of the brook.
Why does the poet say it was "free"? There were no logs nor big stones to stop its course. It ran freely on its way.
Do you see any other words that describe its appearance? It is "Flecked with shade and sun".
Now "Flecked" is a hard word. It means spotted or striped. Can you tell me what that means? Sometimes the brook is bright and shining and, in some places, it is shaded by the trees or by the clouds. You can see bright patches on the water.
Now you have told me many wonderful things about this brook; where it began and where it ended, how it grew, how it sang, how glad it was to see the children, and how the children played with it, and how it looked. What does it tell us at first? It tells us where it began.
In the next stanza? It runs a little faster.
In the next? It was glad to see the children.
In the next? The children were playing with it.
In the next? It ran bubbling and singing into the sea.