Grandma's Attic

THE LITTLE BOY
by Helen E. Buckley

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 any more .

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 then 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.

But the teacher said, "Wait
and I will show you how"
and she drew a flower on the blackboard.
It was red, with a green stem
"There" said the teacher. "Now you may begin"

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 flower.
but he did not say this
He just turned his paper over and made 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 outside all by himself, the teacher said:
"Today we are going to make something with clay"
"Good" thought the littleboy. 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's not time to begin!"
then theteacher said: "We are going to make a dish"
"Good!" thought the little boy, 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, Now you may begin"

The little boy looked at the teacher's dish, then his own.
He liked HIS dish better than theteacher's but he
did not say this.

Pretty soon the little boy learned to wait and to watch
and to make things like the teacher
and pretty soon he didn't make things
of his own anymore.

Now it happened that the little boy and his family
moved to another house, in another city
and the little boy went to another school

This school was even Bigger than the other one
and there was no door from the outside into 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" the little boy said
"What are we going to make?"
"I don't know until you make it"
"How shall I make it? asked the little boy
"Why any way and color you like" she said
"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 pink and orange
and blue flowers.

He liked his new school
Even if it didn't have a door.
Right in from the outside!