The World Is Round Read online

  My

  What a sky

  And then the glass pen

  Rose did have a glass pen

  When oh When

  Little glass pen

  Say when

  Will there not be that little rabbit.

  When

  Then

  Pen

  And Rose burst into tears.

  She did then she burst into tears.

  A little later it was decided that Rose should go to school. She went to school where mountains were high, they were so high she never did see them. Rose was funny that way.

  There at the school were other girls and Rose did not have quite as much time to sing and cry.

  The teachers taught her

  That the world was round

  That the sun was round

  That the moon was round

  That the stars were round

  And that they were all going around and around

  And not a sound.

  It was so sad it almost made her cry

  But then she did not believe it

  Because mountains were so high,

  And so she thought she had better sing

  And then a dreadful thing was happening

  She remembered when she had been young

  That one day she had sung,

  And there was a looking-glass in front of her

  And as she sang her mouth was round and was going around and around.

  Oh dear oh dear was everything just to be round and go around and around. What could she do but try and remember the mountains were so high they could stop anything.

  But she could not keep on remembering and forgetting of course not but she could sing of course she could sing and she could cry of course she could cry.

  Oh my.

  4

  WILLIE AND HIS SINGING

  All this time Willie was living along

  Of course he could always make a song

  The thing that bothered Willie the most

  Was that when there was no wind blowing

  A twig in a bush would get going

  Just as if the wind was blowing.

  He knew when he ran

  And he knew when he sang

  And he knew who

  Who was Willie

  He was Willie

  All through.

  Willie went away not to stay.

  Willie never went away to stay

  That was not Willie.

  But once when he went away it was to stay there where he had seen it.

  He saw it.

  It was a little house and two trees near it.

  One tree sometimes makes another tree.

  Willie

  Will he.

  In a little while nobody wondered that thunder rumbled in winter, lightning struck and thunder rumbled in winter.

  Oh Willie.

  Of course Willie never went away to stay.

  But Willie could sing.

  Oh yes he sang a song.

  He sang a little song about a house two trees and a rabbit

  He sang a little song about a lizard.

  A lizard climbed up the side of the house, it climbed out on the roof of the house and then the poor little lizard fell off of it.

  Plump it fell off of it.

  Willie saw it.

  And Willie said, if the earth is all round can a lizard fall off it.

  And the answer was yes if there is a roof over it.

  Little lizard it lost its tail but it was not dead.

  Willie sat down to rest.

  It’s funny he said, a lizard does not fall off a wall, it is funny and Willie sat down again to rest.

  One of the things Willie did was to sit down and rest.

  He liked cats and lizards, he liked frogs and pigeons he liked butter and crackers, he liked flowers and windows.

  Once in a while they called for him and when they did he would talk to them.

  And then he began to sing.

  He sang.

  Bring me bread

  Bring me butter

  Bring me cheese

  And bring me jam

  Bring me milk

  And bring me chicken

  Bring me eggs

  And a little ham.

  This is what Willie sang.

  And then all at once

  The world got rounder and rounder.

  The stars got rounder and rounder

  The moon got rounder and rounder

  The sun got rounder and rounder

  And Willie oh Willie was ready to drown her, not Rose dear me not Rose but his sorrows.

  He loved to sing and he was exciting.

  This is what Willie sang

  Believe me because I tell you so

  When I know yes when I know

  Then I am Willie and Willie oh

  Oh Willie needs Willie to tell them so.

  Yes he said, he said yes.

  Then Willie began to sing again.

  Once upon a time I met myself and ran.

  Once upon a time nobody saw how I ran.

  Once upon a time something can

  Once upon a time nobody sees

  But I I do as I please

  Run around the world just as I please.

  I Willie.

  Willie stopped again and again he began to sing.

  He sang.

  It was time Willie did something, why not when the world was all so full anywhere, Willie went on, he saw how many there were there.

  Funny said Willie that a little dog sees another little dog far far away and I, said Willie, I see a little boy.

  Well well said the dog little dogs are interesting

  Well well said Willie little boys are interesting.

  Undoubtedly Willie had something to do and now was the time to do it.

  5

  WILLIE AND HIS LION

  Willie had a father and Willie had a mother

  That was Willie.

  Willie went with his father to a little place where they sold wild animals.

  If the world is round can wild animals come out of the ground.

  In the place that his father took Willie wild animals did not grow there, they were not always sold there but they were always there. Everybody there had them. Wild animals were with them on the boats on the river and they went with every one in the garden and in the house. Everybody there had a wild animal and they always had them with them.

  Nobody knows how the wild animals came there. If the world is round can they come out of the ground but anyway everybody had one and sometimes somebody sold one, quite often everybody sold one.

  Willie’s father went to get one. Which one. That was for Willie to say. It was funny seeing wild animals in a boat, one wild animal in a rowing boat, one wild animal in a sail boat, one wild animal in a motor boat.

  It was a funny place this town that is it would not have been a funny place it was just like any place only that every one always had a wild animal with them, men women and children and very often they were in the water in a boat and the wild animal with them and of course wild animals are wild, of course they are wild.

  It was a funny place.

  Willie went everywhere so of course he was there, beside his father had taken him there. It was a funny place. And Willie always took whatever he was given. So he hoped he would have one. Any one. Everybody had one so of course Willie would come to have one, any wild animal will do, if it belongs to you.

  And Willie did come to have one.

  Which one.

  There were elephants, an elephant in a rowing boat, Willie did not get that one.

  And a tiger in a sail boat, Willie did not get that one. Willie got a lion, not a very little one, one who looked like Rose’s dog Love only the Lion was terrifying. Any lion is, even a quite small one and this was a pretty big one. Willie began to sing, it was exciting and Willie sang and sang he did not sing to the lion but he sang about lions being exciting, about cats and tigers and dogs and
bears about windows and curtains and giraffes and chairs. The giraffe’s name was Lizzie, it really was.

  Willie was so excited he almost stopped singing but as soon as he saw his own lion again he began singing again. Singing and singing. This was the song he sang.

  Round is around.

  Lions and tigers kangaroos and canaries abound

  They are bound to be around.

  Why

  Because the world is round

  And they are always there.

  Any little dog is afraid of there.

  Then he sang in a whisper

  Suppose it should rain

  Suppose it should never be the same

  And then Willie’s voice rose

  The lion is what I chose.

  After a long moment he sat down to cry

  He said there, here I am just like my cousin Rose.

  Which was true

  He was.

  He almost was not Willie.

  Oh will he again be Willie.

  Not as long as he has a lion.

  Not as long.

  And it was getting worse and worse and then suddenly he said.

  There were only two baskets of yellow peaches and I have them both.

  He whispered very low.

  And I have them both.

  And Willie had, they were lovely round yellow peaches really round really yellow really peaches and there were only two baskets of them and Willie had them both.

  And so he cheered up and decided to give the lion to his cousin Rose.

  6

  IS A LION NOT A LION

  It is not easy to give a lion away

  What did you say

  I said it is not easy to give a lion away.

  7

  ROSE AND WILLIE’S LION

  There is a lion its name is lion and lion lion is its name.

  Rose began to cry.

  Just try

  Not to make Rose cry

  Just try.

  That is what Willie said to the lion

  When he gave Rose the lion

  His lion.

  Oh yes his lion.

  Well there was more to it than that.

  When Rose knew about a lion his lion Willie’s lion she remembered her dog Love. He was clipped like a lion but it was not that. It was when Love was only three months old and had never seen a lion.

  Love was not a barker, he neither barked nor bit and when he was three months old he never had barked.

  They began to be worried lest he could not bark, like children who will not talk. Well anyway.

  One day Rose and her father Bob and her mother Kate and her grandmother Lucy and her uncle William were out riding and little Love was with them. Love had a pink nose and bright blue eyes and lovely white hair. When he ate asparagus and he liked to eat asparagus his rosy nose turned red with pleasure, but he never barked, not even at a cat or at asparagus. And then that day suddenly that day he stood up he was astonished and he barked. What was he astonished at. There in the middle of the open country was a big truck and on the truck were cages and the sides were down and there they were lions tigers bears and monkeys and Love just could not stand it and he barked.

  Rose was very young then quite young too young then to sing a song but she sang one all the same.

  This was the song she sang.

  How does Love know how wild they are

  Wild and wild and wild they are

  How does Love know who they are

  When he never ever had seen them before.

  And then she went on.

  If a cat is in a cage

  Does that make him rage.

  If a dog is on a roof

  Does that make him aloof

  Or is there any proof

  That he is a dog and on a roof.

  And so

  Oh

  How could Love know

  That wild animals were wild.

  Wild animals yes wild.

  Are they wild if they are wild,

  If I am wild if you are wild

  Are you wild oh are you wild

  Rose began to cry.

  She began to try

  She began to deny

  The wild animals could lie.

  Lie quietly not die but just lie.

  And then Rose once more began to sing.

  I knew, she said, I knew I would sing

  And this is everything.

  I wish, she said, I wish I knew

  Why wild animals are wild.

  Why are they wild why why,

  Why are they wild oh why,

  And once more Rose began to cry.

  Love was asleep he knew he could bark,

  So why stay awake to hear Rose cry and sing

  And sing and cry. Why.

  That is what Love said.

  Why.

  And then later on when Love saw a wild animal he sometimes did anybody sometimes did, he did not bark he just turned his head away as much as to say, I did once but not again, wild animals are not interesting.

  Love mostly barked in his sleep.

  He dreamed.

  And when he dreamed, he made a strangled bark,

  Like anybody dreaming.

  Love never said whether he liked to dream or not, but he did dream and when he dreamed he barked.

  Rose was thinking all about everything when she heard that her cousin Willie had a lion.

  8

  ROSE THINKING

  If the world is round would a lion fall off.

  9

  A FAVORITE COLOR

  Rose certainly made a noise when no one was found

  Rose oh Rose look down at the ground

  And what do you see

  You see that the world is not round.

  That is what Rose said when she knew that it was true that a lion is not blue.

  Of course she knew that a lion is not blue but blue is her favorite color.

  Her name is Rose and blue is her favorite color. But of course a lion is not blue. Rose knew that of course a lion is not blue but blue was her favorite color.

  10

  BRINGING BILLIE BACK

  The lion had a name, his color was not blue but he had a name too just as any one has a name and his name was Billie. Willie was a boy and Billie was a lion.

  11

  BRINGING BACK BILLIE TO WILLIE

  That is what happened.

  Of course Rose could not keep a lion in school, she could not have kept him even if he had been blue which was her favorite color but she certainly could not keep him when he was yellow brown which is the natural color for a lion to be even if the lion has a name as well as a mane and that name is Billie.

  In fact you might say really say that Rose had never had him, the lion had never come in, of course not if a lamb can not come into a school how certainly not can a lion.

  So outside the school was a man with a drum, he was on a bicycle and the drum was on a bicycle and he was drumming and when Rose heard him drumming she went to the door and the man was calling out either or either or, either there is a lion here or there is no lion here, either or, either or.

  Rose began to sing she just could not help herself, tears were in her eyes, she just could not help herself and she began to sing, she just could not help herself.

  The drumming went on, either or, cried the man, neither nor, cried Rose he is neither here nor there, no lion is here no lion is there, neither nor, cried Rose he is neither here nor there. The man began to drum and the drumming went further and further away and the drum was round and the wheels of the bicycle were round and they went around and around and as they went around and around the man whose mouth was round kept saying either or, either or, until there was no more no more drumming no more bicycle no more man any more.

  So Rose was left at the door and she knew no more about the lion about Billie the lion than she had known before and slowly she began to sing.

  Billie is going back to Willie,

  Will
ie is getting back to Billie,

  No lion is blue

  So there is no lion for me

  There is a lion for you

  Oh Willie Willie yes there is a lion for you, a brown lion for you a real lion for you neither will you nor will you ever know how little I wanted to take away the lion from you dear Willie sweet Willie take back oh take back your lion to you, because, and she began to whisper to herself as if she herself was Willie, because if a lion could be blue I would like a lion to come from you either from you or to you dear Willie sweet Willie there is no blue no lion in blue no blue in lion, neither nor, wailed Rose neither nor, and as she said neither nor, there there was a door, and filled with sobs Rose went through the door and never any more never any more would she remember that it had been a lion that she saw, either or.

  12

  ONCE UPON A TIME

  Once upon a time Willie was always there of course he was that was where Willie was and the lion he had almost forgotten that there had been a lion and he had almost forgotten that it had a name and Willie was getting very interested in knowing whether a lizard could or could not be a twin and just then he heard a bell ring and it was the lion Billie the lion back again and Willie just could not help it he just had to begin to sing and he sang a song called

  Bringing Billie back again.

  Bringing Billie back.

  How could Billie come back.

  How if there was no h in how. That is what Willie said, how could Billie come back, how, how.

  And Billie was back, was Billie a lion when he was back, No said Willie, Billie was not a lion when he was back, was he a kitten when Billie was back, no said Willie Billie was not a kitten when he was back, was he a rat when he was back, no said Willie he was not a rat. Well what said Willie what was Billie when he was back, he was a twin said Willie that is what Billie was when he got back.