LESSON 11
THE BLACKSMITH

WORD LIST

iron clinkerty

eyelids shrink

forge labor

intense hammer

1. Clink, clink, clinkerty clink!

We begin to hammer at morning's blink,

And hammer away

Till the busy day,

Like us, aweary, to rest shall sink.

2. Clink, clink, clinkerty clink!

From labor and care we never will shrink;

But our fires we'll blow

Till our forges glow

With light intense, while our eyelids wink.

3. Clink, clink, clinkerty clink!

The chain we'll forge with many a link.

We'll work each form

While the iron is warm,

With strokes as fast as we can think.

4. Clink, clink, clinkerty clink!

Our faces may be as black as ink,

But our hearts are true

As man ever knew,

And kindly of all we shall ever think.

STUDY GUIDE

A. Definitions—Write the correct vocabulary word in front of its meaning. Choose from these words.

clinkerty iron labor shrink intense eyelids hammer forge

1. ___________: the sound a hammer makes when it hits iron

2. ___________: a kind of strong, heavy metal

3. ___________: hard work

4. ___________: not want to do something

5. ___________: very strong

6. ___________: skin above the eye

7. ___________: a tool used for hitting nails

8. ___________: a furnace for melting metal

B. Discussion Questions—Talk about these questions.

1. A blacksmith works with iron. Would you like to be a blacksmith?

2. Is being a blacksmith an easy job? Why or why not?

3. A blacksmith uses a hammer. What other jobs use a hammer?

4. Every section of the poem begins “clink, clink, clinkerty clink.”Why?

5. Which kind of work would you rather do—a job in an office or be a blacksmith? Why?

C. Good and Bad—Think of all the good (positive) and bad (negative) things about being a blacksmith. An example is done for you.

Good (positive)

It can make your body strong.

Bad (negative)

It is very tiring.