Now I am five, my father says
(And what he says you"ve got to mind) That mother"s not to hold my hand,Or even follow me behind
To see I"m safe. But, down the road, And all the way up the next street,I am to walk now quite alone,
No matter what the things I meet.
Though horrid horses rear and plunge, And cows come trampling, big and bold,And fighting boys are strutting out,
I shall have no one"s hand to hold.
Still, five is really very old;
It"s pretty close to being a man. Since I a soldier wish to be,I s"pose it"s time that I began.
I"ll swell my chest right out, like this, And swing my books behind, just so,And wear my hat stuck sideways on, And whistle all the way I go.
There is a little boy I pass,
He"s always swinging on the gate. He"ll think that I am very old-Perhaps he"ll think I"m seven, or eight.
Drawn by W.S. Wemyss
Off to School
There is a little girl I see,
She"s always standing at her door. When I come whistling boldly past,She"ll wish that she were more than four.
What I mind most of all are dogs; My sister says dogs seldom bite,But how can I be sure of this?
Your sisters are not always right.
There is an awful dog I hear;
It barks and barks as I go by.
I know some day it will get loose, And fiercely at my throat will fly.
And other dogs come round and sniff (I"ve sandals, and my legs are bare);Perhaps it"s true they will not bite, Perhaps some day I will not care.
When you were five and walked to school, And you met things to tremble at,Were you as brave as great big men, Or did your heart go pit-a-pat?
Etiiel Turner
Author.-Etiiel Turner was born in England in 1872. She came to Australia at the age of nine, and for a time attended the Girls" High School, Sydney. Later she wrote many books for children, the bestknown of which are Seven Little Australians, The Family at Misrule, The Little Larrikin, Miss Bobbie, Three Little Maids, and Little Mother Meg. She married a lawyer, Mr. H. B. Curlewis. He has since become a judge.
General Notes.-Can you remember being five years old? What things was this boy afraid of? How did he keep up his courage?