THE LITTLE BOY


Once a little boy went to school
He was quite a little boy.
And it was quite a big school.
But when the little boy 
Found that he could go to his room 
By walking right in from the door outside
He was happy.
And the school did not seem 
Quite so big anymore.

One morning,
When the little boy had been in school awhile, 
the teacher said:
"Today we are going to make a picture."
"Good!" thought the little boy.
He liked to make pictures.
He could make all kinds:
Lions and tigers, 
Chickens and cows,
Trains and boats
 And he took out his box of crayons 
And began to draw.

But the teacher said: "Wait!
It is not time to begin!"
And she waited until everyone looked ready
 
"Now," said the teacher, 
"We are going to make flowers."
"Good!" thought the little boy.
He liked to make flowers
And he began to make beautiful ones 
With his pink and orange and blue crayons.

Bit the teacher said, "Wait!
And I will show you how."
And it was red, with a green stem.
"There," said the teacher.
"Now you may begin."

And the little boy looked at the teacher's flower.
Then he looked at his own flower.
He liked his flower better than the teacher's
But he did not say this.
He just turned his paper over 
And make a flower like the teacher's.
It was red, with a green stem.

On another day, 
When the little boy had opened
The door from the outside all by himself,
The teacher said:
"Today we are going to make something with clay"
"Good!" thought the little boy.
He liked clay.

He could make all kinds of things with clay:
Snakes and snowmen,
Elephants and mice,
Cars and trucks
And he began to pull and pinch 
His ball of clay.

But the teacher said:
"Wait! It is not time to begin"
And she waited until everyone looked ready.

"Now," said the teacher:
"We are going to make a dish."
"Good!" thought the little boy.
He liked to make dishes.
And he began to make some 
That were all shapes and sizes.

But the teacher said, "Wait!
And I will show you how."
And she showed everyone how to make 
One deep dish.
"There," said the teacher 
"Now you may begin."

The little boy looked at the teacher's dish,
then he looked at his own.
He liked his dishes better than the teacher's
But he did not say this.
He just rolled his clay into a big ball again
And made a dish like the teacher's.
It was a deep dish.

And pretty soon
the little boy learned to wait,
And to watch, 
And to make things just like the teacher.
And pretty soon
He didn't make things of his own anymore.
Then it happened 
That the little boy and his family
Moved to another house,
In another city,
And the little boy 
Had to go to another school

Than the other one.
And there was no door from the outside
Into his room.
He had to go up some big steps, 
And walk down a long hall
To get to his room.

And the very first day
He was there,
The teacher said:
"Today we are going to make a picture."
"Good!"  thought the little boy
And he waited for the teacher
To tell him what to do.
But the teacher didn't say anything
She just walked around the room.

When she came to the little boy
She said,  "Don't you want to make a picture?"
"Yes,"  said the little boy
"What are we going to make?"
"I don't know until you make it,"  said the teacher.
"How shall I make it?"  asked the little boy.
"Why, any way you like,"  said the teacher.
"And any color?"  asked the little boy.
"Any color,"  said the teacher.
"If everyone made the same picture,
And used the same colors, 
How would I know who made what?
And which was which?"
"I don't know,"  said the little boy
And he began
To make a red flower, with a green stem.

- Helen E. Buckley