The third approached the animal,
And, happening to take

The squirming trunk within his hands,

Thus boldly up he spake:

"I see," quoth he, "the elephant

Is very like a snake!"

"What most this wondrous beast is like,
Is very plain," quoth he:

"'T is clear enough the elephant
Is very like a tree!"

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,

Said: "E'en the blindest man

Can tell what this resembles most;

Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant

Is very like a fan!"

The sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the elephant
Is very like a rope!".

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion.

Exceeding stiff and strong;

Though each was partly in the right,

And all were in the wrong.

In'do stan' (in'dō stän'), India, a country in Asia; ob sẽr vā'tion, taking account of through the senses; mär'vel, wonderful thing; grōpe, to feel one's way with the hands.

STUDY HELPS

Why did the men go to see the elephant?

Why could they not know what the elephant looked like?
What happened to the first man and what did he think?

What did the second man touch? The third man? The fourth man? The fifth man?

Were they far from the truth?

Which do you think was farthest from finding out what the elephant was like?

Did each one believe he was right?

Which was right?

What do you think the story teaches?

HIE AWAY

SIR WALTER SCOTT

Hie away, hie away!

Over bank and over brae,

Where the copsewood is the greenest,
Where the lady fern grows strongest,
Where the morning dew lies longest,
Where the blackcock sweetest sips it,
Where the fairy latest trips it:
Hie to haunts right seldom seen,
Lovely, lonesome, cool, and green,
Over bank and over brae,

Hie away, hie away!

Hie, go quickly; brae, hillside; copse'wood' (kops'wood'), underwood; black cock' (blak'kok'), male of the black grouse, a game bird of the British Isles; trips, runs lightly.

STUDY HELPS

Try to picture clearly the scenes to which you are asked to "hie away."

Read aloud so as to express the light, joyous spirit one would have going on such an excursion.

THE FOUNTAIN

JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

Into the sunshine,

Full of the light, Leaping and flashing From morn till night;

Into the moonlight, Whiter than snow, Waving so flower-like When the winds blow;

Into the starlight

Rushing in spray, Happy at midnight,

Happy by day;

Ever in motion,

Blithesome and cheery,

Still climbing heavenward,

Never aweary;

Glad of all weathers,

Still seeming best, Upward or downward, Motion thy rest;

Full of a nature

Nothing can tame,

Changed every moment,

Ever the same;

Ceaseless aspiring,

Ceaseless content,

Darkness or sunshine
Thy element;

Glorious fountain,

Let my heart be

Fresh, changeful, constant,
Upward, like thee!

Blithe'some, joyous; ǎs pir'ing, seeking for that which is higher: cease'less (sēs'lès), without stopping.

STUDY HELPS

Read this poem two or three times, noticing the short lines and the quick, light movement of the language.

In what three kinds of light does the poet let you picture the fountain? Just how does it appear in each case?

What word in stanza 3 sums up the fountain's nature?

Stanzas 4, 5, 6, and 7 describe the fountain by naming all the qualities or characteristics that belong to it. Make a list of all these qualities in the order in which they are named.

Do you think the qualities mentioned are sufficient to justify the poet in calling it a "glorious fountain"? Try to explain why. What appeal does the poet make to the fountain in stanza 8? In what respects does he want to be like it?

Do you think it would be a good thing to be filled with the spirit of this fountain?

After answering all these questions, read the entire poem aloud so as to express its spirit.

A happy man or woman is a better thing to find than a five-pound note. He or she is a radiating focus of good-will; and their entrance into a room is as though another candle had been lighted.

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON