Phoebe Cary (1824-1871) was an American poet. She was bor Cincinnati and lived with her sister, Alice, in New York City.

mes;

8

And the boy! he has seen the danger

And, shouting a wild alarm,
He forces back the weight of the sea
With the strength of his single arm!
He listens for the joyful sound

Of a footstep passing nigh;

And lays his ear to the ground, to catch
The answer to his cry.

And he hears the rough winds blowing,
And the waters rise and fall,

But never an answer comes to him
Save the echo of his call.

9

So, faintly calling and crying
Till the sun is under the sea;
Crying and moaning till the stars
Come out for company;
He thinks of his brother and sister,
Asleep in their safe warm bed;
He thinks of his father and mother,

Of himself as dying-and dead;
And of how, when the night is over,

They must come and find him at last;
But he never thinks he can leave the place
Where duty holds him fast.

10

The good dame in the cottage

Is up and astir with the light,
For the thought of her little Peter
Has been with her all night.
And now she watches the pathway,
As yester eve she had done;

But what does she see so strange and black
Against the rising sun?

49

Historical: A large part of Holland consists of meadow-land low and flat that the sea would overflow it during high tide if it w not protected, partly by natural sand hills but more by a wonde system of diking. The dikes are long mounds or thick walls of ea and stone, broad at the base and gradual in slope.

Why did he not run to some tage for help?

How long did he hold back water?

Why did he not think of runni
away?

What do you think was the ha
est thing that Peter had
bear that night?
What made Peter a hero?
What kind of boy was Peter b
fore he became a hero?