8 THE QUEST

There once was a restless boy

Who dwelt in a home by the sea,

Where the water danced for joy,

And the wind was glad and free:

But he said, “Good mother, oh! let me go;

For the dullest place in the world, I know,

Is this little brown house,

This old brown house,

Under the apple tree.

“I will travel east and west;

The loveliest homes I’ll see;

And when I have found the best,

Dear mother, I’ll come for thee.

I’ll come for thee in a year and a day,

And joyfully then we’ll haste away

From this little brown house,

This old brown house,

Under the apple tree.”

So he traveled here and there,

But never content was he,

Though he saw in lands most fair

The costliest homes there be.

He something missed from the sea or sky,

Till he turned again with a wistful sigh

To the little brown house,

The old brown house,

Under the apple tree.

Then the mother saw and smiled,

While her heart grew glad and free.

“Hast thou chosen a home, my child?

Ah, where shall we dwell?” quoth she.

And he said, “Sweet mother, from east to west,The loveliest home, and the dearest and best.

Is a little brown house,

An old brown house,

Under an apple tree.”

( Eudora Bumstead )

Word list

dwelt : lived

costliest : most expensive

wistful : feeling or showing a timid desire

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) What did the restless boy learn as he travelled?

2) What do you think he missed in the homes he saw that made him return to “the little brown house”?

3) In what ways do you help out in your home?

4) Do you think people who love their home often love their country as well? Explain.

5) What do you like most about this poem? Explain.

B) Word groups—Complete the following word groups with words from the poem.

1) peach, pear, a _ _ _ _

2) black, gray, b _ _ _ _

3) river, lake, s _ _

4) happiness, gladness, j _ _

5) dwelling, home, h _ _ _ _

C) Your home—Explain what you love about your home in a few sentences.