Persian Treasures, by Edith Nesbit

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THE cats mewed and mewed and twisted their Persian forms in and out and unfolded their Persian tails, and the children and the Phoenix huddled together on the table.

The Phoenix, Robert noticed suddenly, was trembling.

‘So many cats,’ it said, ‘and they might not know I was the Phoenix. These accidents happen so quickly. It quite un-mans me.’

This was a danger of which the children had not thought.

‘Creep in,’ cried Robert, opening his jacket.

And the Phoenix crept in — only just in time, for green eyes had glared, pink noses had sniffed, white whiskers had twitched, and as Robert buttoned his coat he disappeared to the waist in a wave of eager grey Persian fur.

And on the instant the good carpet slapped itself down on the floor. And it was covered with rats — three hundred and ninety-eight of them, I believe, two for each cat.

by Edith Nesbit 1858-1924

From ‘The Phoenix and the Carpet’ (1904) by Edith Nesbit.

Précis

While the carpet is away fetching some cat food, the phoenix begins to worry that even such a distinguished bird as himself might look like a tasty morsel to a cat. He has just reached safety from inquiring noses when the carpet returns, bringing cat food in the form of two rats for each of nearly two hundred cats.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate her ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

Why was the Phoenix trembling?

Suggestion

He feared the cats might eat him.

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

Cats eat birds. The phoenix knew this. He became anxious.

Précis

Questions for Critics

Sevens

Jigsaws

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