How do I know my shadow is very fond of me? He "goes in and out with me". What does that mean? It means he goes wherever I go. What is "the use of him"? That "is more than I can see". What is he like? He is just "like me from the heels up to the head". What does he do when I go to bed? He jumps into bed "before me". MEMORIZATION Now, children, four of you may each recite one line. What have you, Susie? "I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me." What is the use of your shadow, John? "And what can be the use of him is more than I can see." What is he like, Mary? "He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head." When do you see him jump ahead of you? "And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed." NOTE.--Each pupil's expression should reveal an active imagination and hearty response to the spirit of the selection. The whole should be very lifelike and real. Some pupil should be asked to recite or read the whole stanza. Stanza II What is there funny about the shadow? "The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow." How is that? "He sometimes shoots up" very tall all at once, and then he dwindles down to nothing. How would you expect him "to grow"? I would expect him "to grow" as I do. How is that? Oh, that is "very slow". The author says "like proper children". What does that mean? That means like real children. What shows that he sometimes grows up very, very quickly? The poet says he "shoots up". What other words tell the same thing? "Like an india-rubber ball." How is that? The ball goes up quickly with a bounce, and the shadow seems to spring up in the same way. READING AND MEMORIZATION Let two or three children read the stanza. In the first line, the voice should show how funny it all is; in the second, the demureness of the "proper" child and the slowness of the growth should be revealed in the reading; in the third and fourth lines, there should be an imitative response to the sudden up-growth of the shadow and to the childish surprise at his dwindling into nothing. Memorization should be conducted as shown in Stanza I, above. There should be no evidence of task or effort in the recitation; it is very necessary that it be spontaneous and full of enjoyment for the pupils. Stanza III The shadow knows very little about one thing. What is that? He has no "notion of how children ought to play". How does he "make a fool of me"? "In every sort of way." Well, give one way. He mimics me. Where does he stay? He stays right "close beside me". Why does he do that? He does that because "he's a coward".