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What said the wood in the fire
To the little boy that night,
The little boy of the golden hair,
As he rocked himself in his little armchair,
When the blaze was burning bright?
The wood said, “See
What they’ve done to me!
I stood in the forest a beautiful tree,
And waved my branches from east to west,
And many a sweet bird built its nest
In my leaves of green,
That loved to lean
In springtime over the daisy’s breast.
“From the blossoming dells,
Where the violet dwells,
The cattle came with their clanging bells
And rested under my shadows sweet,
And the winds that went over the clover and wheat
Told me all that they knew
Of the flowers that knew
In the beautiful meadows that dreamed at my feet.
“And in springtime sweet faces
Of myriad graces
Came beaming and gleaming from flowery places,
And under my grateful and joy-giving shade,
With cheeks like primroses, little ones played;
And the sunshine in showers,
Through all the bright hours,
Bound their flowery ringlets with silvery braid.
“And the lightning
Came brightening
From storm skies, and frightening
The wandering birds that were tossed by the breeze,
And tilted like ships on black, billowy seas;
But they flew to my breast,
And I rocked them to rest,
While the trembling vines clustered and clung to my knees.
“But how soon,” said the wood,
“Fades the memory of good!
For the forester came with his ax gleaming bright,
And I fell like a giant all shorn of his might.
Yet still there must be
Some sweet mission for me,
For have I not warmed you and cheered you tonight?”
So said the wood in the fire
To the little boy that night,
The little boy of the golden hair,
As he rocked himself in his little armchair.
When the blaze was burning bright.
(Frank L. Stanton)
lightning : flashes of electricity coming from the sk
breeze : soft wind
A) Answer the following questions.
1) Who is the wood in the fire speaking to
2) Who does the wood provide shelter to?
3) Who dreamed at the wood’s feet?
4) How did the wood help the wandering birds?
5) What eventually happened to the wood?
B) What’s the word? Using the clues, write the correct words from the poem.
1) another word for rain -s _ _ _ _ _ _
1) a kind of furniture -a _ _ _ _ _ _ _
2) a tool for cutting wood -a _
3) a home for birds -n _ _ _
4) a kind of purple flower -v _ _ _ _ _
C) Words that rhyme—Find words in the poem that rhyme with these ones.
1)faces -_ _ _ _ _ _
2) breeze -k _ _ _ _
3) green - _ _ _ _
4) wheat -f _ _ _
5) nest - _ _ _ _ _ _