I wish I lived in a caravan,
With a horse to drive, like a pedlar-man! Where he comes from nobody knows, Or where he goes to; but on he goes!
His caravan has windows two,
And a chimney of tin, that the smoke comes through;He has a wife, with a baby brown, And they go riding from town to town. Chairs to mend, and brooms to sell! He clashes the basins like a bell:
Tea-trays, baskets ranged in order,
Plates with the alphabet round the border!
The roads are brown, and the sea is green, But his house is just like a bathing-machine; The world is round, and he can ride, Rumble and splash, to the other side!
With the pedlar-man I should like to roam, And write a book when I came home;All the people would read my book, Just like the travels of Captain Cook!
-William BriGhty Rands
About the Author.-William BriGhty Rands was an English writer who was born in 1823; he died in 1882. He wrote a charming book of stories called Lilliput Legends, as well as many short poems. He wrote chiefly for children, and all his thoughts are wise and good.
About the Poem.-How does the pedlar-man earn his living? Make a drawing of his caravan. Which verse describes the caravan?
Suggestions for Verse-speaking.-Divide the class into two parts. One part speaks the first two lines and the other the second two lines in each stanza. All join in the last stanza.
