20 A GOOD PLAY

We built a ship upon the stairs

All made of the back-bedroom chairs,

And filled it full of sofa pillows

To go a-sailing on the billows.

We took a saw and several nails,

And water in the nursery pails;

And Tom said, “Let us also take

An apple and a slice of cake”;

Which was enough for Tom and me

To go a-sailing on, till tea.

We sailed along for days and days,

And had the very best of plays;

But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,

So there was no one left but me.

(Robert Louis Stevenson)

Word list

sofa: a large comfortable seat for many people

slice: a piece

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) Where was the ship built?

2) What did the children take with them to eat?

3) How long did the children sail?

4) Who was in the boat?

5) Who was the poem written by?

B) Word groups—Complete these word groups with words from the poem.

1) boat, raft, s _ _ _

2) coffee, juice, t _ _

3) thigh, shin, k _ _ _

4) pie, pastry, c _ _ _

5) orange, strawberry, a _ _ _ _