The Town Between the Hills
The further the little girl leaped and ran,The further she longed to be;The white, white fields of jonquil flowersDanced up as high as her kneeAnd flashed and sparkled before her eyesUntil she could hardly see.So into the wood went she.
It was quiet in the wood,It was solemn and grave;A sound like a waveSighed in the tree-topsAnd then sighed no more.But she was brave,And the sky showed throughA bird’s-egg blue,And she sawA tiny path that was running awayOver the hills to—who can say?She ran, too.But then the path broke,Then the path endedAnd wouldn’t be mended.
A little old manSat on the edge,Hugging the hedge.He had a fireAnd two eggs in a panAnd a paper pokeOf pepper and salt;So she came to a haltTo watch and admire:Cunning and nimble was he!“May I help, if I can, little old man?”“Bravo!” he said,“You may dine with me.I’ve two old eggsFrom two white hensAnd a loaf from a kind ladie:Some fresh nutmegs,Some cutlet endsIn pink and white paper frills:And—I’ve—gotA little hot-potFrom the town between the hills.”
He nodded his headAnd made her a signTo sit under the sprayOf a trailing vine.
But when the little girl joined her handsAnd said the grace she had learned to say,The little old man gave two dreadful squealsAnd she just saw the flash of his smoking heelsAs he tumbled, tumbledWith his two old eggsFrom two white hens,His loaf from a kind ladie,The fresh nutmegs,The cutlet-endsIn the pink and white paper frills.And away rumbledThe little hot-pot,So much too hot,From the town between the hills.
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- broke v. i.
- To transact business for another. Brome. [See Broker, and cf. Brook.]
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- bravo n.
- A daring villain; a bandit; one who sets law at defiance; a professional assassin or murderer. [I. See Brave, a.]
- dine v. i.
- To eat the principal regular meal of the day; to take dinner. [F. dîner, OF. disner, LL. disnare, contr. fr. an assumed disjunare; dis- + an assumed junare (OF. juner) to fast, for L. jejunare, fr. jejunus fasting. See Jeju]
- cutlet n.
- A piece of meat, especially of veal or mutton, cut for broiling. [F. c, prop., little rib, dim. of c rib, fr. L. costa. See Coast.]
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Town Between the Hills is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #59276; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Katherine Mansfield, The Town Between the Hills, in Poems (1923), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #59276, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mansfield-poems/the-town-between-the-hills.html, id L27601.
Form and metre
The Town Between the Hills is 63 lines in 5 stanzas. The metre is iambic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 80%).
See other poems in iambic trimeter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -ABABAA ran · beA · flowersB · kneeA · eyesB · seeA · sheA
- 2 -AA--ABB-CCB-DD wood · graveA · waveA · tops · more · braveA · throughB · blueB · saw · awayC · sayC · tooB · broke · endedD · mendedD
- 3 ABBCA-DDCEA-EF--F-GHHG manA · edgeB · hedgeB · fireC · panA · poke · saltD · haltD · admireC · heE · manA · said · meE · eggsF · hens · ladie · nutmegsF · ends · frillsG · gotH · potH · hillsG
- 4 -A-A head · signA · spray · vineA
- 5 --AABC--C-DBEED hands · say · squealsA · heelsA · tumbledB · eggsC · hens · ladie · nutmegsC · ends · frillsD · rumbledB · potE · hotE · hillsD
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The further the little girl leaped and ran, | 10 | ·/˘·/˘···· |
| The further she longed to be; | 8 | ·/˘··˘·· |
| The white, white fields of jonquil flowers | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Danced up as high as her knee | 8 | ·˘······ |
| And flashed and sparkled before her eyes | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Until she could hardly see. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| So into the wood went she. | 7 | ······· |
| It was quiet in the wood, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| It was solemn and grave; | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| A sound like a wave | 5 | ····· |
| Sighed in the tree-tops | 5 | ····· |
| And then sighed no more. | 5 | ····· |
| But she was brave, | 4 | ···· |
| And the sky showed through | 5 | ····· |
| A bird’s-egg blue, | 4 | ···· |
| And she saw | 3 | ··· |
| A tiny path that was running away | 10 | ·/˘···/˘˘/ |
| Over the hills to—who can say? | 8 | ········ |
| She ran, too. | 3 | ··· |
| But then the path broke, | 5 | ····· |
| Then the path ended | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And wouldn’t be mended. | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| A little old man | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Sat on the edge, | 4 | ···· |
| Hugging the hedge. | 4 | /˘·· |
| He had a fire | 5 | ···/˘ |
| And two eggs in a pan | 6 | ······ |
| And a paper poke | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Of pepper and salt; | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| So she came to a halt | 6 | ······ |
| To watch and admire: | 5 | ···˘/ |
| Cunning and nimble was he! | 7 | /˘·/˘·· |
| “May I help, if I can, little old man?” | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| “Bravo!” he said, | 4 | /˘·· |
| “You may dine with me. | 5 | ····· |
| I’ve two old eggs | 4 | ···· |
| From two white hens | 4 | ···· |
| And a loaf from a kind ladie: | 8 | ········ |
| Some fresh nutmegs, | 4 | ··/· |
| Some cutlet ends | 4 | ·/˘· |
| In pink and white paper frills: | 7 | ····/˘· |
| And—I’ve—got | 3 | ··· |
| A little hot-pot | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| From the town between the hills.” | 7 | ······· |
| He nodded his head | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| And made her a sign | 5 | ····· |
| To sit under the spray | 6 | ······ |
| Of a trailing vine. | 5 | ··/˘· |
| But when the little girl joined her hands | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| And said the grace she had learned to say, | 9 | ········· |
| The little old man gave two dreadful squeals | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| And she just saw the flash of his smoking heels | 11 | ········/˘· |
| As he tumbled, tumbled | 8 | ··/˘˘/˘˘ |
| With his two old eggs | 5 | ····· |
| From two white hens, | 4 | ···· |
| His loaf from a kind ladie, | 7 | ······· |
| The fresh nutmegs, | 4 | ··/· |
| The cutlet-ends | 4 | ·/˘· |
| In the pink and white paper frills. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And away rumbled | 5 | ·˘//˘ |
| The little hot-pot, | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| So much too hot, | 4 | ···· |
| From the town between the hills. | 7 | ······· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.