The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-03-07
The POPPY BOAT.

with his mother, but he looked back at
me over his shoulder
You may come with me in the Top
py Boat" he said, graciousiy- Inc
Poppy Boat is his, and it travels be-
tween here and the Land of Dreams.
Thomas has such queer notions apoul
dreams. He thinks, among otner phlusS
that YOU can always choose the peOplo
who are going with you, and he never
fails to make up his own party every
night This night he chose me, Whlch
was q great honor. 49,.
And I'll wait for you at the Br1dge'
he added, as his mother drew him out
of the room The Bridge is just where
YOU begin to think that IN a rev inlii-
utes YOU will be asleep. Thomas al
ways plans to meet his Dreamlano
gnests at the Bridge, but sometimes
they are so long in coming that ne mas
to go on without them
T thought perhaps he would not wait
for me tonight, because nrst nau 70
| talk a. little with his father, and then
his mother came and talked to me; ana
after all that, 1 had to go nome anu
get ready for the journey-ano II was
| iate-O! so late-before came 10 the
Buf although Thomas was impatient,
/ he waited for me. o,,
"And where are we going first2"
asked him. It. e,oa
aglow, ITO find baby sister. Anu 81
we started off. a.s..,
The Poppy Boat is like a poppy flow.
er. You sit in the middle, ana tneil' II
you are cold, you draw tne P e,,s a' ~
over your head. The river is blue ana
ouiet and there are many othef Poppy
| Boats which are gliding around mere
and there, all over 1t. one OF tn e ~
drifted up by us. In the mloale o. 81 -
was something very tiny and very Ialr.
7 held nv breath when I saw what II
was. Thomas" I whispered she 5
from the Baby Land! Perhaps she
little sister,. -, ,,d
she waved hers back, very prettlly- %
Thomas guided his boat until II came
closer to hers. 1 wish you eouIu i a., ' =
seen her boat 1t was pink-not Ieu, l iInt.
, ours-and the petals were SOFT ana satl il
! drawn no close aroud her. as II she
ffe1f that the night was cold.
Thomas leaned over gently and push
/ ed the petals back Are you d oao'
t she nodded a baby head at him.
..T1l1 lust going home" she told him.
I I'VE are lust goingAhere, too" he as
sured her. Come on along hon lrs,o VIZ.
t US" She said she Wouid' ana Anoiiia'
n clapped his hands >,
n Lets find my mother ana tel her'
r he suggested. A,a
= She's around here somewhere. an, an
: Thomas held his hand out to the Httie
y sister. who put a dear baby hand INTO
y his. And so the two boats came To-
s gether, and we drifted on -.
e DO you know where your 20. m nsi1ed
/! goes in her Poppy boat? asked
il l He thought moment Sometimes
t? she goes with me-" he said, land some
y times with father. Sometimes she soes
lie where they build houses, ana soInetlIIies
I where they make dresses, and some
IS ssIf she goes to so many places. wei
to have to hunt all over to ma heI:
20 said. land so we better begin rlgh
away"
Id ers. which means that he is thinking
hard Dresses first he announced
n; finally. she's been talking about them
Ill Sure enough, SO she had, and TO me
n that verv night do you know wher
" thew make dresses?,' I asked the bab'
er. Yes, she did, and if we wanted to g
lie. there all we had to do was to say
if Dresses! Three dresses! To dresses
CHI want to goi" and then we'd be there
sit but if we didn't say 1t just rlght-l w w
I should get it all mixed up and say, 10
he instance Dresses! Two dresses! Ihre
Id dresses I want to goi' or -Four dress
nd es," or anything like that, there wa
ma no telling where you'd go to- the pap
as sister said.
Ike Thomas picked it up Immediately
ng without a bit Of trouble. and befor
she had fairly finished telling me abou
IN it he had said the whole thlng, Just eN
actly right and was drifting ava
ms. from me in his boat, and 1 was f1oatin
ldt away from him in another boat whic
of had mysteriously appeared under m
5pe from somewhere
be "5Thomas! Thomasr' I cried to hiI
sht in dismay Five dressesi Six dresses
IN All the dresses you want. Thomas,
ing you'll only come back! But he ma
| l gone so far that l could only just sc
md him. a wee little sDeck on the edge
in the water, next to the sky, and We
do all alone.
der Then 1 racked my brain to think no
my my it was you said those things ap %,
let dresses, but ! couldn't remember. II
Ind more l tried to remember the more
so forgot Presently 1 even forgot wh'
TO it was 1 was trying to remember, al
ses- just drifting along, not thinking
anything in particular. | met sever
'me people 1 knew, but nobody was goir
in my direction And after a while Il
| river narrowed until it was just
mas thread, the trees came down closer
fe's the edge, and I could hear the singh
,me of birds, and the chirping of cricke
mes and all sorts of land sounds. Then su
has denly, but gently.my boat pushed
- on the shore and stopped.
enld do I get out now?" I asked of n
but body in particular And nobody a
last swered, so 1 got out. anyway
ook had only to take one good look abo
'ies me to be sure that I was in a pleasa
m, no place; flowers were under my feet; t
a. sky was blue above my head: the
Won was sweet and sunny, and yet was
read contented.
Whatever IS the matter with me
her I scolded myself. Here 1 am. in
= lovely place, clothed and in my
W. stopped myself Immediately. "Tha
He just exactly II! exclaimed 'Clolf
keep is just what l want. Let me see-wf
each was that L wanted to say? Oh, yes
ace have it ,nowi" And I shouted triu
nd a P,ielt'eiS' 10 c1o1ic9
lnds ciolASs ant " ~. Anu away
No, went again in my Poppy Boat.
und had not yet remembered abb