Introduction
Sir Edward Abbott Parry had recently been appointed one of her majesty Queen Victoria’s judges when he published Katawampus (1895), a book of tales and rhymes for young children. It all began, it seems, when Pater (Latin for father), in despair over his fractious children, took a Christmas Day dip in the sea... but before telling that extraordinary story, Pater gave these little verses from his ‘book of rhymes’.
YOU can take a tub with a rub and a scrub in a two-foot tank of tin,*
You can stand and look at the whirling brook and think about jumping in,
You can chatter and shake in the cold black lake, but the kind of bath for me,
Is to take a dip from the side of a ship, in the trough of the rolling sea.
You may lie and dream in the bed of a stream when an August day is dawning,
Or believe ’tis nice to break the ice on your tub of a winter morning,
You may sit and shiver beside the river, but the kind of bath for me
Is to take a dip from the side of a ship, in the trough of the rolling sea.
From ‘Katawampus’ (1925) by Sir Edward Abbott Parry (1863-1943).
* Fans of tongue-twisters will recognise the rhythm of ‘How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”. Fans of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings will have been put in mind of Pippin singing Bilbo’s ‘favourite bath-song’, which is strikingly similar.
Précis
In his children’s story Katawampus (1895), Sir Edward Parry told how ‘Pater’ had taken a Christmas Day dip in the sea. He prefaced his tale with a short verse, acknowledging various places for bathing from a tin bath to rivers and lakes, but declared that there was nothing to touch plunging into the sea from the side of a ship. (60 / 60 words)
In his children’s story Katawampus (1895), Sir Edward Parry told how ‘Pater’ had taken a Christmas Day dip in the sea. He prefaced his tale with a short verse, acknowledging various places for bathing from a tin bath to rivers and lakes, but declared that there was nothing to touch plunging into the sea from the side of a ship.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, besides, just, must, or, otherwise, since, who.
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Word Games
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Believe. Jump. May.
2 Lie. Sea. Your.
3 Lake. Stream. Tub.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Verb and Noun Find in Think and Speak
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Rub. 2 Shake. 3 Look. 4 Dream. 5 Roll. 6 Stand. 7 Jump. 8 Ship. 9 Break.
Variations: 1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats. 2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went. 3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
Homophones Find in Think and Speak
In each group below, you will find words that sound the same, but differ in spelling and also in meaning. Compose your own sentences to bring out the differences between them.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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