1. Podcasts – Poems – The Sick Child
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The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
Introduction
Download the LearnEnglish stories and poems podcast. You’ll find more information on this page:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-stories-poems.htm
This support pack contains the following materials:
• the poem that you can listen to in the podcast
• a comprehension activity
Read the poem
The Sick Child
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Child. O mother, lay your hand on my brow!
O mother, mother, where am I now?
Why is the room so gaunt and great?
Why am I lying awake so late?
Mother. Fear not at all: the night is still.
Nothing is here that means you ill.
Nothing but lamps the whole town through,
And never a child awake but you.
Child. Mother, mother, speak low in my ear,
Some of the things are so great and near,
Some are so small and far away,
I have a fear that I cannot say.
What have I done, and what do I fear,
And why are you crying, mother dear?
Mother. Out in the city, sounds begin
Thank the kind God, the carts come in!
An hour or two more and God is so kind,
The day shall be blue in the windowblind,
Then shall my child go sweetly asleep,
And dream of the birds and the hills of sheep.
After you read
Exercise 1
Decide if each of the following 8 statements about the poem is True or False:
1. The child doesn't know where s/he is.
2. The child thinks the room seems bigger than usual.
3. There is a storm that night.
4. All the children in the town are awake.
5. The child knows what s/he is afraid of.
6. The child's mother is very upset.
7. The mother believes the child will sleep during the day.
8. The mother thinks the child will have nightmares.

2. Podcasts – Poems – The Sick Child
Page 2 of 2
The United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are registered in England as a charity.
Answers
Exercise 1: 1. True (T); 2. T; 3. False (F); 4. F; 5. F; 6. T; 7. T; 8. F