(RULES: Continue the excerpt from The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain. Time: 5-10 minutes.)From the book:“Who art thou, boy?”“I am the king,” was the grave answer…“The king? What king?”“The King of England.”
My invented continuation:
“Oh how cruel you are to jest like that when our poor dead king lies cold in the Abbey with candles at his head and feet!” said the eldest girl.
“Yes,” agreed her companion, “and his poor son, at this very hour, mourning the loss of his father, is kneeling by the mortal remains.”
“Praying,” interrupted the first girl, “beseeching heaven for the strength -”
“and wisdom -”
“and courage to be a strong -”
“and wise -”
“and brave ruler -”
“Yes,” said the lad. “But suppose the boy – he is but a boy - suppose he does not want to be king? What then?”
“Then he shall be a strong - ”
“and wise -”
“and brave -”
“and quite unhappy king.”
My invented continuation:
“Oh how cruel you are to jest like that when our poor dead king lies cold in the Abbey with candles at his head and feet!” said the eldest girl.
“Yes,” agreed her companion, “and his poor son, at this very hour, mourning the loss of his father, is kneeling by the mortal remains.”
“Praying,” interrupted the first girl, “beseeching heaven for the strength -”
“and wisdom -”
“and courage to be a strong -”
“and wise -”
“and brave ruler -”
“Yes,” said the lad. “But suppose the boy – he is but a boy - suppose he does not want to be king? What then?”
“Then he shall be a strong - ”
“and wise -”
“and brave -”
“and quite unhappy king.”
~Nancy Langdale Hough
.
Notes on the ART:
The Italian Peasant Boy by William Morris Hunt, 1866
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
lively post - and neat art choice! I'm always curious, what made you choose that image? Thanks!
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ReplyDeleteChoosing the work of art to illustrate a small snippet of writing like this was tricky; the reader knows that Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper was set in England, that the pauper boy is actually a prince in disguise, and that he is unhappy with his situation. The search began. When the writer found Morris' Italian Peasant Boy it was love at first sight - the strong red in the midst of earthy browns, the jaunty, flowered hat and yes, the REGAL ATTITUDE. Here is a prince soon-to-be-king. A prince in cognito. - NLH
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