Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish author who was born in 1850 and died in 1894. He is famous for writing books such as Treasure Island but he also wrote a lot of poetry.
One of his best-known poems is called 'From a Railway Carriage'. Read it through several times to make sure you understand it.
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From a Railway Carriage
Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
And charging along like troops in a battle,
All through the meadows the horses and cattle:
All of the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain;
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.
Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,
All by himself and gathering brambles;
Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;
And there is the green for stringing the daisies!
Here is the cart run away in the road
Lumping along with man and load;
And here is a mill, and there is a river:
Each a glimpse and gone for ever!
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In this activity, you can answer questions about the poem. Remember that you can look back at it as often as you like by clicking the Help button.