  By Robert Louis Stevenson I should like to rise and go Where the golden apples grow;— Where below another sky Parrot islands anchored lie, And, watched by cockatoos and goats, Lonely Crusoes building boats;— Where in sunshine reaching out Eastern cities, miles about, Are with mosque and minaret Among sandy gardens set, And the rich goods from near and far Hang for sale in the bazaar;— Where the Great Wall round China goes, And on one side the desert blows, Cities on the other hum;— Where are forests hot as fire, Wide as England, tall as a spire, Full of apes and cocoanuts And the negro hunters' huts;— Where the knotty crocodile Lies and blinks in the Nile, And the red flamingo flies Hunting fish before his eyes;—- Where in jungles near and far, Man-devouring tigers are, Lying close and giving ear Lest the hunt be drawing near, Or a comer-by be seen Swinging in a palanquin;— Where among the desert sands Some deserted city stands, All its children, sweep and prince, Grown to manhood ages since, Not a foot in street or house, Not a stir of child or mouse, And when kindly falls the night, In all the town no spark of light. There I'll come when I'm a man, With a camel caravan; Light a fire in the gloom Of some dusty dining-room; Heroes, fights, and festivals; And in a corner find the toys Of the old Egyptian boys. Cr?´soes?: men like Robinson Crusoe, the hero of the story of that name. He was a shipwrecked sailor who lived many years on an uninhabited island. Mosque: a church in some Eastern countries. Min´?ret: the tall, slender tower of a mosque. B?zÄar´: in the East a shop where goods are kept for sale. The Great Wall: a wall fourteen hundred miles long, built many hundreds of years ago for the defence of the Chinese Empire. Jun_´gles?: thickets of trees and vines found in hot countries. Giving ear: listening. Palanquin´: an enclosed carriage, used in China and India, which is borne on the shoulders of men by means of two poles. Sweep: a boy who cleans chimneys by sweeping them. Car´?van: a company of travelers through a desert. Fes´tivals?: feasts. "Ah, ah, papa!" cried Elizabeth, "I have found you out." |
|
