ALL THE CHILDREN OF ALL THE WORLD

I wish you would try to think this morning about all the children in all the world.

There are thousands and thousands of them, and they are doing all sorts of things this very minute.

Some of them are wide awake and some are indecoration10decoration bed and fast asleep. Some are in school and some are playing out of doors.

Some live in such hot countries that they lie in the shade of big palm trees to keep cool. Others are in such a cold country that they see nothing but ice and snow, and they are dressed in furs from head to foot.

When you read stories about the children in other lands, do they seem to you like fairy stories?

I want you to know that all these children are real boys and girls, and they work and play and have happy times together, just as you do.

Perhaps when you read about the children in the far North you will wish that you were an Eskimo boy, living in a snow hut, wearing thick furs, and riding over the fields of snow in a sled drawn¹ by dogs.

Or perhaps you would rather be a little Indian and live in a wigwam in the forest, learning² to paddle a canoe³, and to fish and hunt.

While you are here in this beautiful schoolroom, learning to read and write and draw and sing, theredecoration11decoration are thousands of other children who never saw a schoolhouse, and who will grow up to be men and women without even learning to read.

You can read stories about these people, and as you grow older perhaps you will know more about them, but they will probably never hear of you.

Of course, there are many thousands of children everywhere who are in school this morning.

Think of all the boys and girls in every town in the whole United States, who see the flag with its stars and stripes⁴ floating over their schoolhouses, and who learn to sing “America.”

In France the children wave a flag of red, white and blue, and learn a song about their country, but their flag is not like yours, and you could not understand one word of their French song.

The little English children sing a song about their country and their king which you could understand, and they read in books like yours. But then, there are the children who live in Germany, and learn todecoration12decoration read in German, and the children who live in Italy and read Italian books, and many, many others.

Oh, there are so many children in the world!

In Japan and China the children use the queerest⁵ books that you ever saw. The words go up and down the page, and the stories begin at the end of the book, and at the bottom of the page. The words look like this:—
Japanese writing

Did you ever see such funny words?

The boys and girls in these other countries do not go to school all of the time. They have holidays and vacations, and they play out of doors in the long summer days and the cold winter weather, just as you do.

You would enjoy playing with these children, even if you could not talk with them. I know you would like to fly big kites with the boys in Japan, or skate down the canals with the little Dutch boys.

And as for dolls! I am sure there are as many dolls in the world as there are little girls, and perhaps more,decoration13decoration because some little girls have so many dolls that they cannot play with all of them.
Dutch boys skating

You would like to play with the queer⁶ Chinese dolls in their beautiful silken robes⁷, or with the Eskimo dolls that are carved out of bone and are dressed in furs and sealskin.

The Indian girl has wooden dolls dressed in bright blankets, with beads⁸ and feathers. The little French girl has a big wax⁹ doll, with blue eyes that shutdecoration14decoration when she lies down, and pop open when she sits up again. She wears beautiful gowns¹⁰ and big hats with feathers and ribbons.

Wouldn’t it be fun to have a dolls’ party to-day, if the dolls from all over the world could come?

These dolls might be dressed in furs, or silks, or blankets; they might be made of wax, or bone, or wood. But if they could talk they would tell you that the little girl who owns them loves them, and that, whether she lives in a snow hut or a tent in the desert, she has a loving father and mother and a happy childhood.

Are there many children in all the world?

What are some of them doing this very minute?

If you should go to school in Germany, what would you have to do first?

What does a little German child have to do when he first goes to school in our country?

Tell all the things you can that all the children in the world do almost every day.

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 canoe   

n.独木舟；vi.乘独木舟，划独木舟

参考例句：

• They slid the canoe down to the water.他们使小舟滑到水中。
• It is only the second time he has been in a canoe.这仅是他第二次乘小游艇。

4 stripes   

n.（与底色不同的）条纹( stripe的名词复数 )；（军装或警服上表示等级的）臂章；纹理

参考例句：

• The plant's stem is marked with thin green longitudinal stripes. 这种植物的茎上长有绿色细长条纹。
• a zebra's black and white stripes 斑马的黑白条纹

5 queerest   

adj.可疑的( queer的最高级 )；（身子）不舒服的；古怪的；娘儿们似的

参考例句：

• Philosophy's queerest arguments tickle agreeably our sense of subtlety and ingenuity. 哲学上最奇怪的议点也会愉快地引起我们微妙机敏的感觉。 来自辞典例句
• These little American flirts were the queerest creature in the world. 这些喜欢卖弄风情的美国姑娘，真是世界上最不可捉摸的怪物。 来自辞典例句

6 queer   

adj.奇怪的，异常的，不舒服的，眩晕的

参考例句：

• I heard some queer footsteps.我听到某种可疑的脚步声。
• She has been queer lately.她最近身体不舒服。

7 robes   

礼服( robe的名词复数 )； 法衣； 睡袍； 长袍

参考例句：

• cardinals in scarlet robes 身披红袍的枢机主教
• His Indian robes contrasted oddly with his fluent English. 他的印度长袍与他流利的英语形成奇特的对照。

8 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

9 wax   

n.蜡，蜡状物，震怒；vi.变大，增大，月亮满；vt.用蜡涂

参考例句：

• I wax my boots chiefly to waterproof them.我给靴子打蜡主要是为了防水。
• I wax the floor once a month.我每月给地板打一次蜡。

10 gowns   

n.（法官、英国律师、大学学生在特别仪式上穿的）长袍( gown的名词复数 )；女长服；（尤指在医院穿的）罩衣；宽松长外衣

参考例句：

• The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns. 客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "Did you see those two men in black gowns? “看见么？那两个穿黑大衫的。 来自子夜部分