Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age615Please respect copyright.PENANAbu1IKy0aK7
The child is grown, and puts away childish things.615Please respect copyright.PENANAdIKdqPopJ1
Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies.
Nobody that matters, that is. Distant relatives of course615Please respect copyright.PENANADnlPt0Zi0Q
Die, whom one never has seen or has seen for an hour,615Please respect copyright.PENANA4M00jyrx05
And they gave one candy in a pink-and-green stripéd bag, or a jack-knife,615Please respect copyright.PENANAWmdABOxcjf
And went away, and cannot really be said to have lived at all.
And cats die. They lie on the floor and lash their tails,615Please respect copyright.PENANAGxeXQI6DOy
And their reticent fur is suddenly all in motion615Please respect copyright.PENANAGXMe0uN5AF
With fleas that one never knew were there,615Please respect copyright.PENANAZ2pt30Y66E
Polished and brown, knowing all there is to know,615Please respect copyright.PENANAECX6ERxJ3Y
Trekking off into the living world.615Please respect copyright.PENANA0cPfu3io8J
You fetch a shoe-box, but it's much too small, because she won't curl up now:615Please respect copyright.PENANAUuqZENUjni
So you find a bigger box, and bury her in the yard, and weep.615Please respect copyright.PENANAIok9ByJ86k
But you do not wake up a month from then, two months615Please respect copyright.PENANA2nVamyZacz
A year from then, two years, in the middle of the night615Please respect copyright.PENANA8OeHNrUp6d
And weep, with your knuckles in your mouth, and say Oh, God! Oh, God!615Please respect copyright.PENANAVwJYb5zEJT
Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies that matters,615Please respect copyright.PENANApBNnw5nYNW
—mothers and fathers don't die.
And if you have said, "For heaven's sake, must you always be kissing a person?"615Please respect copyright.PENANAppKzcd9T24
Or, "I do wish to gracious you'd stop tapping on the window with your thimble!"615Please respect copyright.PENANAtS7xmHRxVT
Tomorrow, or even the day after tomorrow if you're busy having fun,615Please respect copyright.PENANAp3UjPnfhDN
Is plenty of time to say, "I'm sorry, mother."
To be grown up is to sit at the table with people who have died,615Please respect copyright.PENANATn69rtkYFT
who neither listen nor speak;615Please respect copyright.PENANA7RlrAttqdY
Who do not drink their tea, though they always said615Please respect copyright.PENANAUqqPiFnk26
Tea was such a comfort.
Run down into the cellar and bring up the last jar of raspberries;615Please respect copyright.PENANAzQy8uqwTjo
they are not tempted.615Please respect copyright.PENANAUu9bG7QQ2J
Flatter them, ask them what was it they said exactly615Please respect copyright.PENANAmPAZWEtHVo
That time, to the bishop, or to the overseer, or to Mrs. Mason;615Please respect copyright.PENANAywL14bWepa
They are not taken in.615Please respect copyright.PENANAFcgJPXK0Uc
Shout at them, get red in the face, rise,615Please respect copyright.PENANAKJvCxeqyZe
Drag them up out of their chairs by their stiff shoulders and shake615Please respect copyright.PENANAuSN8vTcAV1
them and yell at them;615Please respect copyright.PENANAMNhzqc7McY
They are not startled, they are not even embarrassed; they slide615Please respect copyright.PENANAjLo96DHqTX
back into their chairs.
Your tea is cold now.615Please respect copyright.PENANArIabfdQOGb
You drink it standing up,615Please respect copyright.PENANAxLq8fyAmHH
And leave the house.