What other words tell the same thing? "Like an india-rubber ball."
How is that? The ball goes up quickly with a bounce, and the shadow seems to spring up in the same way.
READING AND MEMORIZATION
Let two or three children read the stanza. In the first line, the voice should show how funny it all is; in the second, the demureness of the "proper" child and the slowness of the growth should be revealed in the reading; in the third and fourth lines, there should be an imitative response to the sudden up-growth of the shadow and to the childish surprise at his dwindling into nothing.
Memorization should be conducted as shown in Stanza I, above. There should be no evidence of task or effort in the recitation; it is very necessary that it be spontaneous and full of enjoyment for the pupils.
Stanza III
The shadow knows very little about one thing. What is that? He has no "notion of how children ought to play".
How does he "make a fool of me"? "In every sort of way."
Well, give one way. He mimics me.
Where does he stay? He stays right "close beside me".