When may it be said that the leaves are "fast asleep"? When they lie quietly on the ground, no longer blown about by the wind. How were they kept warm during their long sleep? The snow came and covered them up warmly, like a "blanket". What does the whole lesson describe? The falling of the leaves. What does the first stanza speak of? The call of the wind. The second? The answer of the leaves. The third? The leaves asleep. Tell the story of the poem in your own words. PIPING DOWN THE VALLEYS WILD (First Reader, page 52) AIM To enable the pupils to appreciate the pretty pictures and the music, and to learn how their pretty songs were written. PREPARATION In far-away countries there are many sheep, and they require shepherds. These shepherds, as they can rest while their sheep feed, sometimes amuse themselves by cutting oat straws and making them into little flutes. They cut holes in the straws, just as you see holes in flutes or in tin whistles. They learn to play very pretty tunes. David, king of Israel, was, in his youth, a shepherd boy, and he learned to play beautiful music while he watched his sheep. The Psalms that you find in the Bible were composed by him. PRESENTATION Now let us read about a shepherd who was playing music. (The teacher reads the poem.) While he was playing, what did he see? He saw a little child sitting on a cloud. What was the child doing? He was laughing. Why? He liked the music. What kind of music was it? It was pleasant, full of joy. Where was the shepherd? In a valley. Tell what the valley was like. It was wild. It had big rocks and hills on each side, and a cloud was over the valley. What did the child ask him to do? To play "a song about a Lamb". Why did he do that? Because the sheep were pretty and he thought he should like to hear pretty music about them. How did the child like it? He asked the shepherd to play the tune again, and it was such beautiful music that the keen enjoyment of it made the tears come to his eyes. What did the child next ask? He wished to have the music put into words, so he asked the shepherd to "sing" it. How did the child enjoy it? It was so lovely that he "wept with joy". What did he ask the shepherd to do? To "write" it down. Why? The child thought it was so lovely that he wanted other children to hear it, too. Yes, that is the way that we come to have all these pretty poems in our books. If they were only played or sung, not so many children could have the opportunity of enjoying them.