An Ocean Voyage by Sarah Noble Ives
In "An Ocean Voyage," a child narrator describes an imaginative game with playmates Alice and Jimmy, in which a board becomes a ship and an ordinary stream becomes a wide ocean crossed along "the Shining Way." Alice pilots the vessel while the narrator and Jimmy serve as "galley-slaves," rowing with a broomstick instead of oars as Alice steers toward the far shore. The children keep careful watch over the "trackless and rolling deep," imagining minnows, tadpoles, and "monsters grim" swimming beneath them, though they admit these are really just fish they know but have never seen; a bull-frog croaks from the green rushes nearby. As the voyage nears its end, Alice's rudder strikes a stone, causing a lurch, a scramble, and a sudden scream, and all three children tumble into the shallow stream. Alice and the narrator end up dripping wet, and water gets into Jimmy's eye, but they reach land safely, if cold, and wonder whether their mother will scold them for getting soaked.
By Sarah Noble Ives · Genre: Children's Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Adventure · 237 words
First lines
There's an ocean wide we must cross to-day, / For it stretches across the Shining Way. / A board will make us a famous boat; / Hurrah! for the high seas. We're afloat!
Alice will pilot across the waves, / Jimmy and I are the galley-slaves; / We bend to the broomstick instead of the oar, / And Alice steers for the further shore.
Carefully on our course we keep / Over the trackless and rolling deep. / Under our vessel slowly swim / Minnows, tadpoles and monsters grim. / (Fishes we know, but have never seen,) / And a bull-frog croaks from the rushes green.
Similar titles
- Dr Doddridges Dog by George Macdonald
- The Very Merry Voyage Of The Macaroni Man by Carolyn Wells
- By Coach by Sarah Noble Ives
- A Good Play by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Half Past Alligator by Donald Colvin
- Little Elfie by George Macdonald
Genres
- Children's Poetry — Written for young readers with accessible vocabulary, regular rhyme scheme (AABB), and protagonists who are children engaged in imaginative play.
- Narrative Poetry — Employs consistent verse form with structured rhyming couplets to tell a complete story arc from departure through adventure to resolution.
- Adventure — Depicts an ocean voyage with journey, discovery of sea creatures, navigational challenges, and a climactic shipwreck that creates dramatic tension.
- Fantasy — Centers on imaginative play where children transform ordinary objects into a boat and everyday stream into an expansive ocean, blending reality with fantasy.
Tags
imaginative play · childhood · adventure · friendship · make-believe · innocence · transformation · water play · stream · pastoral · outdoor play · children's literature
What this Textopian page supports
An Ocean Voyage is listed on Textopian as a poem by Sarah Noble Ives, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Sarah Noble Ives
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Children's Poetry, Narrative Poetry, Adventure, Fantasy, Whimsical Humor
- Length: 237 words
- Structure: 1 section, 5 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for An Ocean Voyage by Sarah Noble Ives
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph