What has happened? The boy is dead.
Why is "Long ago" repeated? It emphasizes the idea and adds to the pathos of the line. The time has seemed long because of the intensity of the father's grief. Happiness makes time pass quickly, not so grief.
How does the poet suggest the idea that the game is still being continued though it is now an inexpressibly sad one? He speaks of the boy as having left his father as if to hide, of his father as seeking him "high and low", of his being safely "hidden" "in some pleasant place", of the father as being unable to hear his "Coo-ee".
What is really meant by seeking him "high and low"? The thought of his boy is ever with him. He unconsciously looks for his face wherever he goes.
What is the "pleasant place"? Paradise.
How could you describe the short lines, "Far away", etc., down to the end of the stanza? As the call of a broken heart to the boy.
Where is the idea contained in "Far away" expressed before? In "Hidden safe and happy in some pleasant place".
And where is the thought, "Many a day", repeated? "Long ago he left me, long and long ago."
How is the father continually reminded of his boy? By the "Birds" and "Flowers"—everything that he loved is charged with memories of him.
What light is thrown upon the little fellow's interests? He loved the out-of-doors, the things of nature.