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Eletelephony

Laura Richards

Once there was an elephant,

Who tried to use the telephant–

No! No! I mean an elephone

Who tried to use the telephone–

(Dear me! I am not certain quite

That even now I’ve got it right.)

Howe’er it was, he got his trunk

Entangled in the telephunk;

The more he tried to get it free,

The louder buzzed the telephee–

(I fear I’d better drop the song

Of elephop and telephong!)

Vocabulary

trunk – an elephant’s nose

entangled – twisted together, entwined

buzzed – making a low droning or vibrating sound like that of a bee

Answer the following questions on the poem and see whether you understand the vocabulary.

1. Look at the title. Why would you consider it to be a good title?

2. Who is the poet?

3. How many stanzas does the poem have?

4. The poet forms words by combining two or more words. What do we call this?

5. Try to take the following words apart:

(a) telephant

(b) elephone

(c) telephunk

(d) telephong

6. How do you know that the poet is getting confused?

7. Why is the apostrophe used in the word “Howe’er”?

8. Why did the elephant have trouble using a telephone?

9. Why does the poet decide to “drop the song”?

The cow

Robert Louis Stevenson

The friendly cow all red and white

I love with all my heart:

She gives me cream with all her might,

To eat with apple-tart.

She wanders lowing here and there,

And yet she cannot stray,

All in the pleasant open air,

The pleasant light of day;

And blown by all the winds that pass

And wet with all the showers,

She walks among the meadow grass

And eats the meadow flowers.

Vocabulary

apple-tart – tart with apples as main ingredient

lowing – sound made by cattle

stray – wander away from the place where you should be

meadow – grassland

1. Can a cow really be friendly? What is this an example of?

2. Do you think the poet’s idea of a cow is realistic? Why not? (Refer to stanza 1)

3. What sounds do the following animals make?

a) A horse . . .

b) A cat . . .

c) A sheep . . .

d) A donkey . . .

e) A lion . . .

f) A frog . . .

g) A monkey . . .

4. Change the following sentences into past tense and then into future tense:

a) He milks the cow.

b) The cow sleeps in the barn.

c) The cow grazes in the field.

d) The donkey pulls the cart.

e) The milk is finished.

5. Write down the opposite gender of the following.

a) Not a hen but a . . .

b) The stallion runs around the . . .

c) The cows graze with the . . . in the field.

d) Not a sow but a . . .

e)There were more bitches than . . .

f) The lion roars to impress the . . .

6. What do we call the young of the following animals?

a) cow

b) horse

c) lion

d) cat

e) hen

f) sheep

7. Suggest a reason why the cow cannot stray.

The first tooth

Charles and Mary Lamb

Through the house what busy joy,

Just because the infant boy

has a tiny tooth to show!

I have got a double row,

all as white, and all as small;

yet no one cares for mine at all.

He can say but half a word,

yet that single sound’s preferred

To all the words that I can say

In the longest summer day.

He cannot walk, yet if he put

with mimic motion out his foot,

As if he thought he were advancing,

It’s prized more than my best dancing.

1. Why is the poem called “The first tooth”?

2. What does the word “infant” suggest about the age of the boy?

3. Give an example of alliteration from the poem.

4. What does “prized more” mean?

5. What does everybody prefer to all the words the older sibling can say?

6. Quote a word to prove that the infant tries to imitate movement.

Vocabulary

Infant – small child, baby

mimic – imitate

prized – valued

If things grew down

Robert D. Hoeft

If things grew down

Instead of up,

A dog would grow

Into a pup.

A cat would grow

Into a kitten.

Your sweater would grow

Into a mitten.

A cow would grow

Into a calf

And a whole would grow

Into half.

Big would grow

Into something small

And small would grow

Into nothing at all.

Vocabulary

sweater – a jersey or pullover

mitten – a glove that covers four fingers together and the thumb separately

1. Match the animal in column A with its young in column B. Write down the animal and its young.

2. What other “things” does the poet mention and what do they “grow” into?

3. What warning does the poet give at the end of the poem?

4. Use a dictionary and choose the meaning from column B to fit the expression that contains the word “dog” in column A.

5. Write down a homophone for “whole” (line 11). What is the difference in meaning between these two words?

The vulture

Hilaire Belloc

The Vulture eats between his meals

And that’s the reason why

He very, very rarely feels

As well as you and I.

His eye is dull, his head is bald,

His neck is growing thinner.

Oh! what a lesson for us all

To only eat at dinner!

Have a discussion with your friend.

 • Do vultures play any role in nature? What role is it?

 • Why do you think it is important that we protect vultures?

 • Why do you think vultures are bald?

 • Will a vulture attack a calf? Why?

Questions

1. A quatrain is a stanza that has four lines. How many quatrains are in this poem?

2. Write down the rhyme scheme of the poem.

3. Which two words describe what the vulture looks like?

4. Why does a vulture feel unwell all the time?

5. What lesson is to be learnt from the vulture?

6. A group of vultures is called a colony. What are the collective names for the following:

a) A group of chickens is a . . .

b) A group of cattle is a . . .

c) A lot of cookies is a . . .

7. Choose the correct answer and complete the sentence:The vulture is a . . . because he eats all day.

a) pest

b) glutton

c) mess

8. Read the following words out loud. Which pair of letters in each word is used to create the same sound? Write down the words and underline the sounds.meals (line 1); feels (line 3)

9. Read the word “vulture”. What do you notice about the two underlined letters?

10. When we compare someone to a vulture, it means that the person is very greedy. Look at the idioms in column A and match them with the explanations in column B.

A worm’s betrayal

Fanie Viljoen

A worm made up his mind

To change his whole life

So he got a new girlfriend,

And he got a new wife.

Not once did he think

Of the worms he betrayed

Till the day he was chopped

In two by a spade.

Now the girlfriend and spouse

Still fight without fail

Over who gets his head

And who gets his tail.

Vocabulary

betrayed – hurt by someone's disloyalty, unfaithfulness, falsity

spouse – husband or wife

without fail – for certain, whatever happens

1. Look at the title of the poem. What does it mean?

2. A quatrain is a stanza that consists of four lines. How many quatrains are there in the poem?

3. Look at the first line of stanza 1. The poet states:

“A worm has made up his mind”

What is it called when human qualities are given to non-human things?

4. Give a homophone for “whole” in line 2. Make two sentences to show the meaning of the two words.

5. In lines 3 and 4, the worm has a girlfriend and a wife. What does this tell you about the worm?

6. Which worms did he betray according to stanza 2? Why?

7. Give a synonym (from the poem) for spouse.

8. What are the wife and the girlfriend fighting about?

9. What kind of worm is this do you think? Why?