Why is "Long ago" repeated? It emphasizes the idea and adds to the pathos of the line. The time has seemed long because of the intensity of the father's grief. Happiness makes time pass quickly, not so grief. How does the poet suggest the idea that the game is still being continued though it is now an inexpressibly sad one? He speaks of the boy as having left his father as if to hide, of his father as seeking him "high and low", of his being safely "hidden" "in some pleasant place", of the father as being unable to hear his "Coo-ee". What is really meant by seeking him "high and low"? The thought of his boy is ever with him. He unconsciously looks for his face wherever he goes. What is the "pleasant place"? Paradise. How could you describe the short lines, "Far away", etc., down to the end of the stanza? As the call of a broken heart to the boy. Where is the idea contained in "Far away" expressed before? In "Hidden safe and happy in some pleasant place". And where is the thought, "Many a day", repeated? "Long ago he left me, long and long ago." How is the father continually reminded of his boy? By the "Birds" and "Flowers"--everything that he loved is charged with memories of him. What light is thrown upon the little fellow's interests? He loved the out-of-doors, the things of nature. What ray of sunshine breaks through the clouds of the father's grief? The conviction that his boy "is waiting" for him till he comes. What is the meaning of the line, "Love may hide itself", etc.? The little boy's love may for the moment be hidden, but it is everlasting. The father's love is likewise everlasting. This is sufficient ground for believing that they will some day be united. The reading of this poem by the pupils will show whether they feel its joy, its sadness, and its hope. AN APPLE ORCHARD IN THE SPRING (Third Reader, page 60) AIM To lead the pupils to appreciate the beauty of an apple orchard in the spring and the music of the language used in describing it. PREPARATION This lesson should be taken when the apple orchards are in bloom. The teacher should prepare the pupils for it, by asking them to observe the blossoms, their colours and odours, the songs of the birds, and the sounds of the streams. PRESENTATION Read the poem describing these. What is the main theme of the lesson? The poet tells us how much we have missed if we have not "seen an apple orchard in the spring". What is his theme in the first three stanzas? The beauty of an apple orchard. What, in the last stanza? His memory of it.