The Runaway Boy
Wunst I sassed my Pa, an' heWon't stand that, an' punished me,--Nen when he was gone that day,I slipped out an' runned away.
I tooked all my copper-cents,An' clumbed over our back fenceIn the jimpson-weeds 'at growedEver'where all down the road.
Nen I got out there, an' nenI runned some--an' runned againWhen I met a man 'at ledA big cow 'at shooked her head.
I went down a long, long laneWhere was little pigs a-play'n';An' a grea'-big pig went "Booh!"An' jumped up, an' skeered me too.
Nen I scampered past, an' theyWas somebody hollered "Hey!"An' I ist looked ever'where,An' they was nobody there.
I Want to, but I'm 'fraid to tryTo go back.... An' by-an'-bySomepin' hurts my throat inside--An' I want my Ma--an' cried.
Nen a grea'-big girl come throughWhere's a gate, an' telled me whoAm I? an' ef I tell whereMy home's at she'll show me there.
But I couldn't ist but tellWhat's my name; an' she says well,An' she tooked me up an' saysShe know where I live, she guess.
Nen she telled me hug wite closeRound her neck!--an' off she goesSkippin' up the street! An' nenPurty soon I'm home again.
An' my Ma, when she kissed me,Kissed the big girl too, an' sheKissed me--ef I p'omise shoreI won't run away no more!
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- somebody n.
- A person unknown or uncertain; a person indeterminate; some person.
- nobody n.
- No person; no one; not anybody. [No, a. + body.]
- wite n.
- Blame; reproach. [AS. wite punishment. Wite, v.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Runaway Boy is in the public domain. This text is taken from Riley Child-Rhymes, Project Gutenberg ebook #9777; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: James Whitcomb Riley, The Runaway Boy, in Riley Child-Rhymes (1890), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9777, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/riley-child-rhymes/the-runaway-boy.html, id L25048.
Form and metre
The Runaway Boy is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 7 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%).
See other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
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 AABB heA · meA · dayB · awayB
- 2 AABB centsA · fenceA · growedB · roadB
- 3 --AA nen · again · ledA · headA
- 4 AABB laneA · play'nA · boohB · tooB
- 5 AABB theyA · heyA · ever'whereB · thereB
- 6 AABB tryA · byA · insideB · criedB
- 7 AABB throughA · whoA · whereB · thereB
- 8 AA-- tellA · wellA · says · guess
- 9 AA-- closeA · goesA · nen · again
- 10 AABB meA · sheA · shoreB · moreB
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Wunst I sassed my Pa, an' he | 7 | ······· |
| Won't stand that, an' punished me,-- | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Nen when he was gone that day, | 7 | ······· |
| I slipped out an' runned away. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| I tooked all my copper-cents, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| An' clumbed over our back fence | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| In the jimpson-weeds 'at growed | 7 | ······· |
| Ever'where all down the road. | 7 | ······· |
| Nen I got out there, an' nen | 7 | ······· |
| I runned some--an' runned again | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| When I met a man 'at led | 7 | ······· |
| A big cow 'at shooked her head. | 7 | ······· |
| I went down a long, long lane | 7 | ······· |
| Where was little pigs a-play'n'; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| An' a grea'-big pig went "Booh!" | 7 | ······· |
| An' jumped up, an' skeered me too. | 7 | ······· |
| Nen I scampered past, an' they | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Was somebody hollered "Hey!" | 7 | ·/·˘/˘· |
| An' I ist looked ever'where, | 7 | ······· |
| An' they was nobody there. | 7 | ···/··· |
| I Want to, but I'm 'fraid to try | 8 | ········ |
| To go back.... An' by-an'-by | 7 | ······· |
| Somepin' hurts my throat inside-- | 8 | ······˘/ |
| An' I want my Ma--an' cried. | 7 | ······· |
| Nen a grea'-big girl come through | 7 | ······· |
| Where's a gate, an' telled me who | 7 | ······· |
| Am I? an' ef I tell where | 7 | ······· |
| My home's at she'll show me there. | 7 | ······· |
| But I couldn't ist but tell | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| What's my name; an' she says well, | 7 | ······· |
| An' she tooked me up an' says | 7 | ······· |
| She know where I live, she guess. | 7 | ······· |
| Nen she telled me hug wite close | 7 | ······· |
| Round her neck!--an' off she goes | 7 | ······· |
| Skippin' up the street! An' nen | 7 | ······· |
| Purty soon I'm home again. | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| An' my Ma, when she kissed me, | 7 | ······· |
| Kissed the big girl too, an' she | 7 | ······· |
| Kissed me--ef I p'omise shore | 7 | ······· |
| I won't run away no more! | 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.