Meadow Surprises & The Three Surprises

This poem is not composed by me, but it sure speaks my heart, I love to take strolls to parks , meadows, fields  and woods and often enjoy observing small-small wonders.

Meadow Surprises

Meadows have surprises,

You can find them if you look;

Walk softly through the velvet grass,

And listen by the brook.

      You may see a butterfly

    Rest upon a buttercup

   And unfold its drinking straws

    To sip the nectar up.

You may scare a rabbit

Who is sitting very still;

Though at first you may not see him,

When he hops you will.

    A dandelion whose fuzzy head

   Was golden days ago

      Has turned to airy parachutes

     That flutter when you blow.



My Memory Log

    Now below is the story which we had read in class 6th. The name of the book was "Read for pleasure" Again its talking about enjoying nature. I remember after reading this in class teacher told us to go out on the play ground ( we had big play ground and corners we had plants and trees ) and find a surprise for you mother. We all went out hunting for the surprise ,teacher told us not to pluck flowers :) , as they can be easily considered as a choice for the surprise by the kids, lol :D ... Bottle cap, feathers, broken glass pieces, wood sticks, seeds, stones, coins, buttons, chalks, used pencils, rubbers and lot more ...we left no stone untured in the search of our surprises . Many of us were having two to five surprises. The teacher liked the enthusiasm of all of us but she appreciated the natural surprises like wood pieces , stones , seeds etc. I had got one snail shell from the mound of sand at the corner of the ground. it was quite a big snail shell. Teacher liked it she told me to clean that and paint it in silver color ( take the color from drawing & painting studio of school ) I did that. 

We all are told to give those things to our mothers and told to write what our mothers said to us after receiving the surprise and what they did with that. I remember mummy praising it and keeping that in puja room for decoration. I felt really good. suddenly I remember about this story and I searched in net for it and finally some how got this, Feeling really happy to publish it here. It a bit of my childhood.

The Three Surprises

Have you ever given surprises to anyone? It makes you happier when you give a surprise, rather a pleasant surprise. Isn't? Look at what surprises a boy like you is facing as he explores into the world of nature. Listen to the story, The Three Surprises and as you listen try to mark the correct response to each question you have in hand. Once upon a time there was a little boy. He had lots of toys to play with and books  to look at. But when the spring sun shone through his window and the sky was as blue as a kingfisher's wing, he grew tired of all his things.

When his mother came into the room he said to her, "Mother, what shall I do? I

don't want to play with my toys or look at my books any more today." And his mother, who could always think of lovely things for little boys to do, said, "Go out into' the sunshine and follow the path of the blowing wind across the meadow to the wood and see if you can bring me back three surprises."

So the little boy took his basket and went out into the spring sunshine. He followed the blowing wind across the meadow and it whispered and sang in his ears.

"O wind, said the little boy, "I wish I knew what you were saying perhaps you could tell me where I could find a surprise to put in my basket and take home to my mother?

The wind blew and blew as if it wanted to be understood. Then it went winging its way ahead, and as it passed by it dropped a surprise at the little boy's' feet. There, curled like a tiny half-moon was a feather — a black, red-tipped feather. When he picked it up it lay in his hand, soft as silk, light as air, warm as spring sunshine. He put it carefully into his basket and called out to the speeding wind, "Thank you, wind, for my first surprise." 

Then he went on into the little wood. Last year's leaves, russet and brown, lay about his feet on the path but the trees were green-tipped and the birds were singing.

"O birds" said the little boy, "I wish I knew what you were saying. Perhaps you could tell me where I could find a surprise to put in my basket and take home to my mother?" The birds sang sweetly and clearly as if they wanted to be understood and a fat thrush flew hurriedly out of a hawthorn bush.

Then, all at once, the little boy saw lying there on the mossy ground under the hawthorn tree, a surprise— two pale blue halves of a thrush's broken egg. A baby bird had shed them for he no longer needed their protection. They lay like two tiny, empty cups waiting to be filled. Breathlessly, in case they should break, the little boy picked them up and put them in his basket beside the feather. Then he called out to the busy, singing birds, "Thank you, thank you, birds, for my second surprise." 

Then he went on through the wood to where the trees ended and the whole world seemed to lie at his feet. White clouds like wandering sheep were filling the distant sky and drifting across the sun. "O clouds and sun," said the little boy, "I wish I knew what you were saying; perhaps you would tell me where I could find a surprise to put in my basket and take home to my mother." The clouds moved slowly past as if they wanted to write a message in the sky and the little boy sat down on the soft, sandy ground under the last, tall pine tree. All at once, a little shaft of sunlight slid between the dark branches of the pine tree turning the sand to gold. The little boy buried his hands in the warm amber dust when suddenly he felt something round and hard. There, between his fingers, was a pebble.

It was clear like glass and as smooth as if all the rivers in the world had run over it for a million years. It shone like a star when he held it up to the light. Here was his last surprise.

He took his handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapped the lovely crystal pebble in it and put it in his basket. Then he looked up at the evening sky and called out, "Thank you, thank you, clouds and sun, for my third surprise."

It was time to go home. He hurried down through the wood and across the meadow. And the blowing wind, the singing birds and the moving, sun-bright clouds were with him all the way as he went.

"I have my three surprises," he called out to his mother as he opened the door. "O, what lovely surprises!" said his mother as she took out of the basket the black, red-tipped feather, the two pale blue halves of the thrush's egg and the smooth, hard, crystal pebble.

"Now I have a surprise for you!" And there, at his place on the table, was a large, brown egg ready to be eaten and a bar of cream jelly chocolate. The little boy broke off the top of his egg and put his spoon into the yolk. His mother laughed as he spooned it on his bread.

"We will keep your surprises here, on my special table." she said and laid them out carefully— the black, red-tipped feather, the two pale blue halves of the thrush's egg and the smooth, hard, crystal pebble"