The Moon
by Robert Louis Stevenson (Mulberry)
The Poem :
"The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and fields and harbour quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.
The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the moon.
But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall arise."
Summary of the Poem :
The poet says that the face of the moon is like the clock in their hall. The moon shines on the thieves on the garden wall. She shines on the streets and fields and on the platforms in the harbours. She also shines on the sleeping birds in their nests on the branches of the tree.
The nocturnal creatures like cat, mouse, dog and bat come out in the moon. The cat is squalling the mouse squeaking and the dog howling by the door of the house. The bat lies in bed during the day. As it comes out at night.
All the animals of the day sleep in their cosy bed during night. They do not come out in the light of the moon. Both the flowers and children sleep closing their eyes till the sun shines in the morning.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
1. Circle the correct answers.
a. Who loves being out at night?
the cow the cat the dog the birds the bat the flower the children the mouse
= (the cat) (the dog) (the bat) (the mouse)
b. The moon is compared to:
a bird noon the sun a clock the hall
= (a clock)
c. In the poem, the howling dogs are:
on harbour quay on trees on streets on garden walls in bed on fields by the door of the house
= (by the door of the house)
2. Read these lines and answer the questions that follow.
"But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall arise."
a. In these lines, which are the two things that belong to the day?
= In these lines, the two things that belong to the day are - flowers and children.
b. What do 'the things that belong to the day' do at night?
= 'The things that belong to the day' sleep in their cosy bed during night.
c. Why do they do that?
= They come out during the day. They do their daily activities at day time. They need rest at night. They sleep to get rest in the night.
3. Why is the moon compared to a clock? Name a few other round objects that we could compare the moon to.
= The moon is compared to a clock due to its round shape.
The few round objects that we could compare the moon to, are - plate, round mirror, frisbee disc etc.
4. Pick out three words from the poem that describe the noises that animals make.
= 'Squalling' of cat.
'Squeaking' of mouse.
'Howling' of dog.
5. What do you like: being out at night or during the day? Give reasons for your answer.
= I think I like both being out at night and during the day.
I would like to be out more during the day. Because I have to go to school, to the market, to friend's house during the day. It is more safe to be out during the day.
I would like to be out less at night. I would just be out at night to experience it. To experience the world at night.
About the Poet :
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was born in Scotland. A Child's Garden of Poems is one of his best known collections of poetry for children. He also wrote two popular novels, Treasure Island and Kidnapped.