The Froggy in the Middle from Diddilydeedot's Dreamland.

"KAYLEIGH Q"
In Diddilydeedot's Dreamland
 
Froggy-in-the-Middle.

Brand New Dog and Anthony were playing 'Piggy-in-the-middle', or more accurately, 'Froggy-in-the-middle' for the 'pig' was infact Happy Frog!

"Its not fair," said Anthony as Happy Frog easily leapt up and caught the ball sailing over his head,"you shouldn't be allowed to hop that high!"

"Not hop?" croaked happy Frog, grinning from ear to ear. "But I'm a frog, I don't have any choice in the matter."

"Well I'm fed up of Piggy-in-the-middle," said Anthony, "can't we play something else?"

"What about 'Froggy, Froggy, may we cross your river today?'" said Frog.

"That's no good either," said Anthony, "Barbie always wins. She always has some item of just about every colour on her, whether its purple pants, lemon socks or blue and yellow flowers sown on to her frilly bits. Besides, she has such long legs she can always outrun 'Froggy' everytime, even when the 'Froggy' is you, Frog!"

"Well what about hide-and-seek then?" suggested Ellen, looking up from the little rag doll she was sowing for her cousin Marjorie.

"Not hide-and-seek," said Anthony. "The last time I was 'IT' I was in the cupboard underneath the stairs for three days before anybody ever found me. And then it was only the electricity man come to read the meter."

"Well we didn't know Amornrat's Uncle was coming to visit with his two daughters, Mai and Bai. Before we knew it Amornrat had bundled us all up in her shoulderbag to visit Hong Kong Disneyworld for the weekend. By the we realised you weren't with us we were already going through customs. We did bring you back a model of Minnie Mouse and some Moon-cakes!"

"Yes and Orange Thing ate most of them. I only got half of one."
"If I recall it was a half-moon the evening we got back," said Brand New Dog.
"Well well, speak of the devil," said Barbie, leaning out from the top shelf where she was reading the latest issue of 'Fashion Fashion Fashion', "here's Orange Thing now but what on earth is that he's carrying in his mouth - not another rat with half its stomach hanging out? Will he never get it through his thick marmalade head that little girls don't eat rats?"

Dodie's Dream World, Classic Everything and a lot of fun. xxx : Blog

Dodie's Dream World, Classic Everything and a lot of fun. xxx : Blog

From Here to There and Back again with Diddilydeedot : Blog The 19th Century prints of Japanese Artist

UTAGAWA KUNIYOSHI (1797 – 1861)

These are really very modern, when you look at some of the Manga created today, yet they are over a hundred and fifty years old.
They are very much in the form of todays Japanese comics and play station etc., I think they are wonderful and worth showing, If you haven't seen the two Deathnote films, I think both good and evil could be attributed to Kuniyoshi, and he wouldn't be insulted. I do hope you like them.
The Royal Academy of Arts in London presented an exhibition of  Utagawa Kuniyoshi work.
It featured 150 of his works, the exhibition presented Kuniyoshi as a
master of imaginative design.
It also revealed the power and
beauty of his prints, and through so many different designs, a range of subjects
which highlighted his ingenuous use of the triptych format, (three pictures arranged to make one.). The majority of
the exhibition was drawn from the collection of
Professor Arthur R. Miller which has recently been donated to the
American Friends of the British Museum. Professor Miller spent thirty years collecting his fantastic collection. When asked why he chose the UK to exhibit his collection, he gave a wonderful reply;
"I've always wanted to see the collection exhibited and researched, and the British Museum, unlike the American Museums, do not sell or trade works that are donated to them. In London my collection will be permanently available for research and viewing, and as a scholar myself, I really appreciate that."
I think that is a wonderful way of looking at things and it means that his collection will never be split or sold. That is really good, so many treasures have ended up behind closed doors in Private collections. Never, ever to be seen again. So sad!
     This was the first major
exhibition in the United Kingdom of Utagawa Kuniyoshi work since 1961. I didn't see either of them I'm afraid. I was in Saudi in the first and hospital in the last. But this is where my wonderful PC comes in, I do love looking up all these facts and figures, and hopefully making them a bit more interesting for the children.
    This terrifying picture is the middle part of a Triptych, it seems that the Princess Takiyasha summons the skeleton spectre to frighten Mitsukuni. who is prostrate on the floor. Here is a copy of the whole Triptych. Mighty wonderful don't you think?

Dodie's Dream World, Classic Everything and a lot of fun. xxx : Blog

Dodie's Dream World, Classic Everything and a lot of fun. xxx : Blog KEBLE'S EVENING HYMN

Illustrated
by
Frank T. Merrill.   J. D. Woodward. F.Childe Hassam.


Drawn and Engraved under the supervision of
George T. Andrew.


Tis gone, that bright and orbed blaze,
Fast fading from our wistful gaze;
Yon mantling cloud has hid from sight
The last faint pulse of quivering light.





Sun of my soul ! Thou Saviour dear,
Is it not night if Thou be near:
Oh , may no earth born cloud arise
To hide Thee from Thy servant's eyes !



When round Thy wonderous works below
My searching rapturous glance I throw,
Tracing out Wisdom, Power, and Love,
In earth or sky, in stream or grove ; -

In darkness and in weariness
The traveller on his way must press,
No gleam to watch on tree or tower,
Whiling away the lonesome hour.


Or by the light Thy words disclose
Watch Time's full river as it flows,
Scanning Thy gracious Provence,
Where not too deep for mortal sense :-

When with dear friends sweet talk I hold,
And all the flowers of life unfold; -
Let not my heart within me burn,
Except in all I thee discern.

Diddily Dee Dot's Dreamland for Children Everywhere : Blog

Diddily Dee Dot's Dreamland for Children Everywhere : Blog

JODY'S TREASURE CHEST

Come with me to the sea, to the sea
                  Have shipwrecks, find Mermaids
ask  Pirates to tea.
or maybe listen to The Yarn of the Nancy Bell
as told to you, as you look at the lovely pictures.

The Yarn of the Nancy Bell

'Twas on the shores that round our coast

From Deal to Ramsgate span,

That I found alone on a piece of stone

An elderly naval man.

His hair was weedy, his beard was long,

And weedy and long was he,

And I heard this wight on the shore recite,

In a singular minor key:

"Oh, I am a cook and a captain bold,

And the mate of the Nancy brig,

And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite,

And the crew of the captain's gig."

And he shook his fists and he tore his hair,

Till I really felt afraid,

For I couldn't help thinking this man had been drinking,

And so I simply said:

"Oh, elderly man, it's little I know

Of the duties of men of the sea,

And I'll eat my hand if I understand

However you can possibly be

'At once a cook, and a captain bold,

And the mate of the Nancy brig,

And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite,

And the crew of the captain's gig."

Then he gave a hitch to his trousers, which

Is a trick all seamen learn,

And having got rid of a thumping quid,

He spun this painful yarn:

Seligor's Castle, where there is so much fun for all of our children in the land. : Blogs

Seligor's Castle, where there is so much fun for all of our children in the land. : Blogs

 FOR THE VERY YOUNG

My Shadow
by Robert Louis Stevenson

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, 

And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. 

He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; 

And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
 



The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow--

Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow; 

For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, 

And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all. 





He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play, 

And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way. 

He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see; 

I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me! 




One morning, very early, before the sun was up,

I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup; 

But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head, 

Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

The Yarn of the Nancy Bell, with video attraction, brilliant

JODY'S TREASURE CHEST
Come with me to the sea, to the sea
Have shipwrecks, find Mermaids
ask Pirates to tea.
or maybe listen to The Yarn of the Nancy Bell
as told to you, as you look at the lovely pictures.

The Yarn of the Nancy Bell

His hair was weedy, his beard was long,'Twas on the shores that round our coast
From Deal to Ramsgate span,
That I found alone on a piece of stone
An elderly naval man.

His hair was weedy, his beard was long,
And weedy and long was he,
And I heard this wight on the shore recite,
In a singular minor key:

King Midas to the beautiful taste of the Pomegranates

King Midas was a very wealthy king. Collecting gold was his
hobby, his joy and his life. One day as he sat counting his wealth he
saw an old man asleep under a tree. He saw that it was Silenus from the
court of Dionysus, God of wine. Midas was cunning and treated Silenus
like a king for ten days before taking him back to Dionysus. Dionysus
was grateful for the care lavished on his old servant and told King
Midas that he would grant any wish that he made.
Midas asked that anything he touched would be turned to gold. Dionysus
granted his wish but warned him about his greed. Midas was very happy.
He touched a tree and it turned to gold. He touched the walls of his
palace and it turned to gold. He touched his horse, then his servant,
his food and finally his children. Everything turned to gold.



 A Little of Greek Mythology
created by especially for Children

The Pomegranate Seeds

The Pomegranate was often used as a herbal remedy to lengthen life
and restore vigor, these qualities often made it a symbolic link
between the living and the dead.

Zeus and Demeter had a beautiful daughter called Persephone. Hades fell in love with her and wanted to marry her.

Hades
asked Zeus if he could marry her, Zeus dare not say no because he did
not want to upset Hades. He knew that if he said yes Demeter would be
angry. Whatever he answered would be wrong, so he did not answer. Zeus
hoped that Hades would just forget Persephone.

Seligor's Castle, where there is so much fun for all of our children in the land. : Blogs

Seligor's Castle, where there is so much fun for all of our children in the land. : Blogs



 The Flower and the Stone

A flower grew next to a stone, on a narrow strip of land between a forest and the sea.

"O Stone," said the Flower,
"it is glorious to open my petals in the sun, to feel the heat of summer and the coolness of the air upon my flesh."



"I to am warmed by the sun," said the Simple Stone.
"but my petals are slower to open. A million bright and perfumed flowers will flourish and die before I put forth my first tentative shoot or unfurl soft green leaves to a sun that you will never see."

Even as he spoke, the fullness of Summer pressed heavy beauty upon all the land, kissing each tiny flowers were turning brown, consumed, consumed in the intestity of Love.

After glorious Summer had kissed all the beautiful flowers he passed away over the edge of the world, and Autumn swept the fallen petals away on her red and golden winds.
Winter came and lay upon the Earth.
upon the trees of the forest, and the distant hills and mountains, upon the narrow stretch of land between the forest and the sea.

Underneath the pure white snow, the stone dreamed its long stone dreams and remembered the flower of summer.
Many summers and winters passed.
Autumn lost count of all the frail and beautiful petals that she carried away in her red and gold arms.

Finally the morning came of a long - awaited Spring and the stone put forth its first tentative shoot into the invigorating air.
As the sun rose slowly into the clear, crisp sky, it began to unfurled its delicate soft green leaves, turning this way and that as it grew towards the  heat and light.
 Already it had forgotten the many days and night it had lain as a stone in the womb of the earth,
baked by the sun, washed by a million rivers of rain, frozen by a million cold night.
Forgotten too were its dreams of conversations with flowers and insects, small animals and passing clouds.
Stones have deep great sympathies for things, but no great power of concious memory.

But now its time had come and it could wait no longer.
With a joyous shout , it opened the clustered bud of its long hibernation, exploding into a riot of subtle and glorious colour, a perfumed mandala full of a million deities that dances upon each petal in divine celebration of consciousness and life.
The full heat of the sun, the full heat of the season, bent down to kiss the beautiful flower, for now it was High Summer and the golden sun was at its zenith, so that not a single shadow was cast over any of the land.
A small stone lay in the earth next to the flower.
In the bright sunlight it shone
like a blaxing star.

 

Welcome to A Dream on a Midsummer's Night

 This is a Child's Version of

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM



(William Shakespeare wrote the original)

          There was a law in the city of Athens which gave its men the power of the choosing, whom they wanted their daughters to marry. And what was worse if the daughter in question refused to marry the lucky individual, the father was then given the power to put their own child to death. Of course this didn't happen all the time but it did on occasion, and this is the story of that "one time"  of which this story is about.
 There lived at this time an old man, whose name was Egeus, he decided to go to the Duke of Athens and ask that his daughter, Hermia, be killed because she would not marry Demetrius, a young gentleman of a noble family of Athens, but not a very nice man really. Also the beautiful Hermia had already fallen in love and given her heart to another young Athenian , whose name was Lysander and by far the better catch of the two young gentlemen in question.
      It wasn't all Hermia's fault  that she didn't want to marry Demetrius, for he had already told her that he had been in love with Hermia's best friend Helena, and Helena still was very much in love with Demetrius, but he not so with her. Alas these reasons didn't help  or make any difference.... unfortunately not for Egeus didn't care about the love of these young people, all he wanted was his daughter to be put to death for not obeying him.
     Theseus, although quite powerful, wasn't powerful enough to change ther law but he did give Hermia four days to change her mind, then if she still refused to marry Demetrius, she was to be put to death.

     When Hermia was allowed to leave the Duke's presence she went straight to Lysander and  told him of the judgement laid upon her. Lysander was completely heart-broken, the thought of the girl he loved being taken from him, and to be forced into another marriage against her will.
Then after many tears, Lysander suddenly remembered that he had an aunt who lived outside Athens in a part that wasn't affected by this cruel death sentence. They straight away planned that Hermia steal away from her fathers house and together they would go to Lysanders aunt's house, where they would be married as soon as possible.
Quickly they decided that the best place for them to meet was in a small wood, where the two of them often met when Hermia and Helena were out walking in May.

     Hermia was so excited, a quick kiss and she was gone, to make her plans of escape. She told no one but her best friend Helena, who vowed to keep her secret but it was a secret soon broken , for she went straight away to tell Demetrius what Hermia and Lysander were planning to do,it is sad to think that Hermia one true friend deliberately set about destroying her friends happiness because, she so hated Demetrius for not loving her. And it worked for as soon as Demetrius heard of the lovers plans he went searching for them.

Nanci Griffiths Winter Marquee Wonderful Video for all to watch.

The Pixies have come out to play , now the sun has gone away. There's time to jump and time to roll and play at falling down a hole

THE PIXIES

The Pixies frolic where nobody walks,
In a dark green fairy ring;
A hop-bine tied upon buttercup stalks
Makes them a capital swing,
And a strip of wood from a hawthorn bough
On a toadstool placed, is a see-saw now.

At hide-and-seek in the grasses as tall

As a pixie on tiptoe

Some play, and others an oak-apple ball
Toss in the air, to and fro;
And the finest game on a moonlight night
Is their leaping over the mushrooms white.

by Edith E. Millard.