Enhancing Video Game Localization

Through Dubbing (Palgrave Studies in

Translating and Interpreting)
Mejías-Climent
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Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting

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Margaret Rogers,
School of Literature and Languages
University of Surrey
Guildford, UK
This series examines the crucial role which translation and interpreting in
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 Laura Mejías-Climent

Enhancing Video
Game Localization
Through Dubbing
Laura Mejías-Climent
Translation and Communication
Jaume I University
Castelló, Spain

Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting

ISBN 978-3-030-88291-4    ISBN 978-3-030-88292-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88292-1

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 Preface

Regardless of one’s personal interest in video games, their prominent role

in the current entertainment landscape is undeniable. They have millions
of fans around the world, their sales have exceeded other entertainment
industries and a whole gaming culture gathers followers through interna-
tional events, championships and streaming channels. However, video
games are a relatively recent audiovisual product if we think about other
non-interactive media. Games did not receive proper academic attention
until the turn of the century, even later from the translation studies stand-
point, and only since 2010 have publications on game localization started
to flourish. Localization is a fundamental process that allows video games
to be exported to other markets and to continue expanding across borders.
This book aims to analyze the video game localization process, with a
particular emphasis on the dubbing phase and its distinctive characteris-
tics. To do so, the concept of video games, their semiotic structure and
the video game industry will be presented. The special focus on dubbing
is intended to fill the gap in research and education since dubbing remains
largely unexplored in localization, even though film dubbing has already
been studied extensively as it has been used for almost a century in the
cinematographic industry. It should be acknowledged that a handful of
manuals have been published on game localization. Nonetheless, little
attention seems to have been paid to the full definition of video games
from a semiotic and multimodal perspective and the implications this has
v
vi Preface

for localization, which could also contribute to better understanding the

professional task of localization. Furthermore, very few publications deal
with dubbing in video games specifically. Dubbing in movies and dub-
bing in video games share some similarities in terms of quality standards,
but the idiosyncrasy of the latter requires some particular adaptations.
Reviewing the dubbing process and its specific synchronies applied to
video games will be highly beneficial for both professionals and aspiring
translators, as hardly any formal training was offered in this particular
aspect until recently. It is thus my intention to shed some light on the
subject matter from a threefold perspective: academic, professional and
educational.
To review the localization process step by step in this volume, not only
has an analytical and theoretical framework been established, but a group
of localization professionals have also been interviewed to gather first-­
hand information from the industry. They will remain anonymous to
minimize any conflict with the usual confidentiality agreements that are
signed in this industry. However, it can be specified that they participated
in the localization process of some of the games analyzed in Chap. 5
(project managers, translators, reviewers, dubbing actors and directors,
and dubbing engineers, as well as the head of the Spain-based dubbing
studio Rec Games Sonido). Their insights will be incorporated through-
out these pages to enrich and complement the academic sources that have
also been consulted. One of the aspects that will be highlighted through-
out the following chapters, which is also deduced from the answers of
those interviewed, is the wide variety of approaches that the industry
adopts in localization. This may be due to the still limited standardization
of such a recent process, or to the fact that video games are particularly
complex and multiform, and they differ greatly from one genre to another.
Be that as it may, this monograph cannot provide an exhaustive account
of all the practices and only seeks to put forward common trends in the
localization sector and in the use of dubbing in particular.
Although video games expand across international markets, and differ-
ent locales will be referred to throughout these pages in order to provide
several examples, the focus of this book will be titles localized from
English to Spanish (Spain). It should be pointed out, nonetheless, that
 Preface vii

many of the professional practices described here are shared across lan-
guage combinations and countries.
Regarding the book structure, it is divided into six chapters, including
some concluding remarks. Chapter 1 discusses the concept of video
games as interactive audiovisual products, their semiotic implications for
localization—and for dubbing in particular—and the different translat-
able assets and game situations that can be found in a game. A video
game taxonomy will also be proposed, based on the criterion of the inter-
active genre, which brings together both the industry and the theoretical
conceptualization of games. The aim is to design a framework in which
to classify any video game depending on the type of experience offered to
the player and to organize future research approaches to game localiza-
tion and the different aspects that characterize each game genre, while
always remaining realistic and useful to the industry, as the proposed
terminology to identify game genres is quite similar to the terms used by
the professionals and the specialized media.
Chapter 2 reviews the history of video games and localization to situ-
ate the origins of dubbing in this interactive medium and trace its evolu-
tion, which remains largely overlooked in publications on game
localization and game studies.
Chapter 3 describes the localization process and the different phases
and agents involved, according to the data gathered from various schol-
arly sources and professional statements. The relationship between audio-
visual translation (AVT) and localization is discussed in order to clarify
certain concepts, followed by a description of the localization process.
The main localization agents, their most frequent activities and the mate-
rials they receive will also be discussed.
Chapter 4 focuses on the dubbing phase, including the transfer of lin-
guistic content and in-studio performances. An initial review of the main
terms used in the AVT and localization fields will also be included to
avoid the frequent terminology overlaps when referring to the terms dub-
bing, voice-over (VO) and lip-sync. This will help clarify the concepts
and make an initial comparison between the well-established practices of
cinematographic dubbing and its application in the game industry. The
model of quality standards described for film dubbing will be explored
from the perspective of game localization. Lastly, synchronization will be
viii Preface

presented as a particular dubbing standard that requires a different tax-

onomy when dubbing interactive products.
Finally, Chap. 5 will present four case studies illustrating the concepts
introduced in previous chapters. They will consist of descriptive and
empirical analyses that make up a small corpus of adventure video games
to be analyzed using game situations as the basic unit to organize their
contents, rather than using time codes, as these cannot be traced in inter-
active material. Previous descriptive studies in AVT will serve as an essen-
tial reference, nonetheless, adapting the methodology to the particularities
of interactive products.
A final overview of the contents and results discussed throughout the
book will be given in Chap. 6.
As this book aims to review the characteristics and needs of game local-
ization and particularly those of dubbing in video games, it might be
deemed of interest for practitioners to understand localization processes
from a systematized perspective, but also for researchers who could find
utility in the description of the semiotic and multimodal perspective of
video games, in their classification in different interactive genres and in a
methodology to adapt descriptive studies in AVT to the particularities of
interactive audiovisual material. Students and aspiring localizers could
also benefit from a book in which video games are carefully defined from
the specific point of view of media localization and its requirements. All
in all, one of the aspects that can be deduced from these pages is that
more research is required to contribute to the establishment of localiza-
tion as a well-recognized and systematized field, although the first steps
have been taken in recent years and this work intends to join the current
landscape of video game localization by making its small academic, edu-
cational and professional contributions.

Seville, Spain Laura Mejías-Climent

 List of Cited Video Games

Age of Pirates: Caribbean Tales (Akella, 2006)

Alex Kidd in Miracle World (Sega, 1986)
Arizona Sunshine (Vertigo Games/Jaywalkers Interactive, 2016)
Asteroids (Atari, 1979)
Astron Belt (Sega, 1983)
Baldur’s Gate (Bioware/Interplay, 1998)
Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios, 2009)
Batman: Arkham Knight (Rocksteady Studios, 2015)
Batman: Arkham Origins (Warner Bros. Games Montréal, 2013)
Battlefield 4 (EA Digital Illusions, CE 2013)
Bega’s Battle (Data East, 1983)
Bejeweled (PopCap Games 2001)
Berzerk (Stern Electronics, 1980)
Beyond: Two Souls (Quantic Dream, 2018)
Bugaboo the Flee (Indescomp, 1983)
Command and Conquer (Westwood Studios, 1995)
Command and Conquer: Red Alert (Westwood Studios, 1996)
Computer Space (Nutting Associates, 1971)
Control (Remedy Entertainment, 2019)
Cosmic Star Heroine (Zeboyd Gamez, 2017)
CrossCode (Radical Fish Games, 2020)
Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt, 2020)
ix
x List of Cited Video Games

Dark (Rare, 2000)

Detroit: Become Human (Quantic Dream, 2018)
Discs of Tron (Midway, 1983)
Donkey Kong (Nintendo 1981)
Dragon’s Lair (Don Bluth, 1983)
EDGE (Mobigame 2011)
Fahrenheit (Quantic Dream, 2005)
Fifa (EA Sports, 1993–)
Final Fantasy VII (Square, 1997)
Final Fantasy X (Square, 2001)
Frogger (Konami, 1981)
Game Dev Studio (Roman Glebenkov, 2018)
Gears 5 (The Coalition, 2019)
Grand Theft Auto III (DMA Design Ltd., 2001)
Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream, 2010)
Horizon: Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games, 2017)
Iron Man 2 (Secret Level, Gameloft, 2010)
Jurassic Park (BlueSky Software, 1993)
Karateka (Jordan Mechner, 1984)
KILL la KILL (A+ Games, 2019)
L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, 2011)
Maniac Mansion (LucasArts, 1987)
Metal Gear Solid (Konami, 1998)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Konami, 2001)
Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out! (Nintendo, 1987)
Minecraft Dungeons (Mojang 2020)
NBA 2K20 (Visual Concepts, 2017–2020)
Ninja Gaiden (Tecmo, 1988)
Overwatch (Blizzard Entertainment, 2015)
OXO (aka Noughts and Crosses or Tic-Tac-Toe) (A. S. Douglas, 1952)
Pac-Man (Namco, 1980)
Phantasy Star (Sega, 1987)
Pong (Atari, 1972)
Pro Evolution Soccer (Konami, 2001–)
RUSH (Two Tribes 2010)
Silent Hill 2 (Team Silent, 2001)
 List of Cited Video Games xi

Space Invaders (Toshihiro Nishikado, 1978)

Spacewar (S. Russell, 1962)
Super Mario Bros (Nintendo, 1985)
Supermarket Shriek (Billy Goat Entertainment Ltd., 2019)
Tennis for Two (W. Higinbotham, 1958)
Tetris (Alekséi Pázhitnov 1984)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda Game Studios 2011)
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo EAD)
The Longest Journey (Funcom, 1999)
The Mansion of Hidden Souls (Sega, 1995)
The Witcher (CD Projekt RED STUDIO, 2007)
Thunderhawk (Core Design, 1993)
Wing Commander IV (Origin, 1996)
 Acknowledgments

Looking back, I realize that the long path to accomplish a project is full
of valuable people whom I would like to thank for encouraging me and
this work in one way or another—personal support is just as important
as academic support. These acknowledgments are just a very brief expres-
sion of my sincere gratitude to all those who have contributed to making
the following pages possible, whether mentioned here implicitly or
explicitly.
My deepest gratitude goes to Professor Frederic Chaume and his con-
tinuous guidance, generosity and positivity. Thank you for believing in
me from the start. This project would not have been possible if I had not
crossed paths with him a long time ago at ISTRAD, to whose staff I am
also grateful for believing in me when I was just a young graduate. A
special thank-you goes to Professor Rafael López-Campos.
Professor Chaume’s immense personal and academic value is reflected
in our research group TRAMA. I am also deeply grateful to all group
members for their continuous support and generosity. My special grati-
tude goes to Dr. Ximo Granell for his useful insights and to Dr. Irene de
Higes Andino, Dr. José Luis Martí Ferriol and Dr. Julio de los Reyes
Lozano for always helping me.
This project would not be the same without the positive encourage-
ment of my dear colleagues Núria Molines, Dr. Alicia Chabert and Dr.
Robert Martínez. Thank you for being there any day, any time.
xiii
xiv Acknowledgments

I would also like to thank my current university, Universitat Jaume I,

for giving me the opportunity to gain predoctoral and postdoctoral expe-
riences to date with the support of two research grants. Thank you to
those I met during my research stays at DCU and my short teaching stay
at the University of Malta. My special thanks go to Dr. Giselle Spiteri
Miggiani for her inspiration. I am also grateful to Dr. Carme Mangiron
and Dr. Miguel Bernal-Merino for their invaluable wisdom regarding
this research.
I am extremely grateful to all the professionals who shared their crucial
insights and relevant information related to their experience in the local-
ization industry, particularly those who worked for Pink Noise, Synthesis
Iberia and KiteTeam at the time and more recently Rec Games Sonido.
Thanks to all of them for their availability and for sharing their passionate
experience on which these pages are based.
I am also grateful to the publishers and the editors, Alice Green and
Helen van der Stelt, for their guidance, and the series editor, Margaret
Ann Rogers, for her valuable comments and suggestions, which have
contributed to enhancing the contents of these pages.
My gratitude also goes to all my students who have encouraged me
with their questions and valuable feedback in order to continue improv-
ing and working in the field. Special thanks to those UJI students who
began their undergraduate degrees in 2017–2018 and 2016–2017. Thank
you, Juanjo M. M., for your wholehearted support.
A special thank-you goes to my dear friend Megan, whose expertise in
language revision is always essential, but even more her continuous and
honest encouragement.
Above all, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my family for supporting me
to continue working every day and for patiently understanding: Blanca,
José María, Guillermo and Alfredo. Thank you for always being there no
matter what.
Finally, I would like to mention my grandparents and their deep affec-
tion. Thank you for always believing in me; I am sure you are proud and
watching over me, wherever you are. Even though the language or the
topic might not be the most familiar to you, I would like to dedicate this
book to you for your inspiration.
 Praise for Enhancing Video Game Localization
Through Dubbing

“Dr. Mejías-Climent has excellently combined dubbing synchronies and video

game localisation in her monograph, two fundamental and growing areas of
research within traditional Translation Studies. The methodology and case stud-
ies selected throw a bright light onto current professional practices, and how the
localisation of multimedia interactive entertainment software can benefit from
the existing cinema dubbing industry, as well as vice versa with the growth of
interactive multimedia products. The present research thoroughly addresses one
of the topics missing from previous game localisation scholarship, and nuances
the types of synchronies found in video games. The scope of this book is very
ambitious but very built on solid foundations, integrating dubbing and localisa-
tion research from the earliest publications to the latest ones. This monograph is
an essential addition to the slowly-growing scholarship on game localisation.
Without a doubt, a must-have book in all libraries and catalogues specialised in
translation. It is a pleasure for me to see this great original investigation pub-
lished for the benefit of video game dubbing researchers and professionals
around the world.”
—Dr Miguel Á. Bernal-Merino, Convener MAs in Translation, University of
Roehampton, London. https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/
miguel-­%C3%A1ngel-­bernal-­merino

“Laura Mejías-Climent’s Enhancing Video Game Localization Through Dubbing

makes a fresh and valuable contribution to the existing research in game localiza-
tion, as it focuses on the dubbing process and the specific synchronies applied to
video games, which have received little scholarly attention to date. Mejías-­
Climent traces the origins of dubbing in the video game industry and describes
its evolution to date. She also analyzes the game localization process, from a
semiotic and multimodal perspective, providing us with the insights of the dif-
ferent agents involved in the dubbing process, skillfully combining theory with
practice. The book presents four case studies of dubbing practices applied to
AAA games, which illustrate in detail the current approaches used for dubbing
in game localization, depending on the different game situations and their level
of interactivity. Undoubtedly this book represents a must-read for anyone inter-
ested in video games and their localization, as well as readers interested in audio-
visual translation and localization, be it academics, professionals, trainers,
students or the general public.”
—Carme Mangiron Hevia, Universitat Auònoma de Barcelona. https://
portalrecerca.uab.cat/en/persons/maria-­carme-­mangiron-­hevia-­3

“In a robust and illuminating contribution to the literature of audiovisual trans-

lation and video game localization, Laura Mejías-Climent takes the reader on a
journey to the world of localization that allows video games to be exported to
other markets and to expand across the world. By unravelling the secrets and
history of this popular professional practice in an engaging and elegant prose,
the author adopts an innovative semiotic and interdisciplinary approach –based
on game situations and the interactive experience– to analyze the role of dub-
bing and the new synchronization types used in this market.”
—Frederic Chaume Varela, Universitat Jaume I, Spain. https://www.uji.es/
departaments/trad/base/estructura/
personal?p_departamento=99&p_profesor=65104
 Contents

1 Video Games as Modern Multimodal Products  1

1.1 What Is a Video Game and How Does It Work?   3
1.1.1 Semiotic Channels and Signifying Codes   6
1.1.2 The Rules of the Game   9
1.1.3 The Audiovisual and Interactive Dimensions:
Gameplay and Playability  13
1.2 The Structure of a Video Game in Translation: Game
Situations and Translatable Assets  19
1.3 The Link Between the Game Industry and Research: A
Practical Proposal for Interactive Genres  24
1.3.1 Game Classifications Within the Industry and
Academia 27
1.3.2 Game Genres Determined by the Interactive
Dimension 29
1.3.3 The Nine Interactive Genres and Their Main
Characteristics 33
References 38

xvii
xviii Contents

2 The History of Localization and Dubbing in Video Games 43

2.1 The Current Game Industry in Figures and Its Impact
on Research  46
2.2 The Origins of Video Games (1960s) and the First Beeps
(1970s) 51
2.3 The Origins of Game Localization (1980s)  55
2.4 The Origins of Dubbing in Video Games (1990s)  60
2.5 The Industry in the New Millennium (2000s)  66
2.6 Concluding Remarks  71
References 74

3 Game Localization: Stages and Particularities 79

3.1 Game Localization and Audiovisual Translation  82
3.2 The Localization Process  86
3.2.1 Levels of Localization and Game Localization
Models 90
3.2.2 An Agile Process in Different Phases  95
3.2.3 Agents and Available Materials in the
Localization Process 102
3.2.4 The Role of Fan Communities 109
References113

4 Dubbing in Video Games117

4.1 The Film Dubbing Model in Localization 119
4.1.1 Avoiding Terminology Overlap 121
4.1.2 The Dubbing Process: Movies Versus Video
Games123
4.1.3 Quality Standards in Film Dubbing Applied to
Game Dubbing 135
4.2 A Particular Quality Standard: Dubbing Synchronies in
Video Games 142
4.2.1 Synchronization Across AVT Modes and
Localization142
4.2.2 Dubbing Synchronies Within the Semiotic
Construct of Audiovisual Products 146
4.2.3 Types of Dubbing Synchronies in Video Games 151
References156
 Contents xix

5 Dubbing Analysis Through Game Situations: Four Case

Studies163
5.1 A Brief Excursus on Research in Video Game
Localization164
5.2 Analyzing the Dubbing of Adventure Video Games 167
5.3 The Dubbing of Three Action-Adventure Video Games 171
5.3.1 The Case of Batman: Arkham Knight172
5.3.2 The Case of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate184
5.3.3 The Case of Rise of the Tomb Raider192
5.4 The Dubbing of a Graphic Adventure: Detroit: Become
Human201
5.4.1 Tasks in DBH205
5.4.2 Game Action in DBH207
5.4.3 Dialogic QTEs in DBH209
5.4.4 Cinematics in DBH211
5.5 Concluding Remarks 213
References219

6 Conclusion223
References232

Index235
 Abbreviations

ACS Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

AVT audiovisual translation
BAK Batman: Arkham Knight
CAT computer-assisted translation
CGI computer-generated imagery
CMS content management systems
DBH Detroit: Become Human
DLC downloadable content
EOV English original version
FMV full-motion video
GILT globalization, internationalization, localization, translation
LPM localization project manager
M&E music and effects (audio track)
NDA non-disclosure agreement
NPC non-playable character
PM project manager
QA quality assurance
Q&A questions and answers (queries sheet)
QTE quick-time event
ROM read-only memory
RPG role-playing games
RTR Rise of the Tomb Raider
SDV Spanish dubbed version

xxi
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 THE RIVALS
By Paul Laurence Dunbar

’Twas three an’ thirty year ago,

When I was ruther young, you know,
I had my last an’ only fight
About a gal one summer night.
’Twas me an’ Zekel Johnson; Zeke
’N’ me ’d be’n spattin’ ’bout a week,
Each of us tryin’ his best to show
That he was Liza Jones’s beau.
We couldn’t neither prove the thing,
Fur she was fur too sharp to fling
One over fur the other one
An’ by so doin’ stop the fun
That we chaps didn’t have the sense
To see she got at our expense.
But that’s the way a feller does,
Fur boys is fools an’ allus was;
An’ when they’s females in the game
I reckon men’s about the same.
Well, Zeke an’ me went on that way
An’ fussed an’ quarreled day by day;
While Liza, mindin’ not the fuss,
Jest kep’ a-goin’ with both of us,
Tell we pore chaps, that’s Zeke an’ me,
Was jest plum mad with jealousy.
Well, fur a time we kep’ our places,
An’ only showed by frownin’ faces
An’ looks ’at well our meanin’ boded
How full o’ fight we both was loaded.
At last it come, the thing broke out,
An’ this is how it come about.
One night (’twas fair, you’ll all agree)
I got Eliza’s company,
An’ leavin’ Zekel in the lurch,
Went trottin’ off with her to church.
An’ jest as we had took our seat,
(Eliza lookin’ fair an’ sweet),
Why, I jest couldn’t help but grin
When Zekel come a-bouncin’ in
As furious as the law allows.
He’d jest be’n up to Liza’s house,
To find her gone, then come to church
To have this end put to his search.
I guess I laffed that meetin’ through,
An’ not a mortal word I knew
Of what the preacher preached er read
Er what the choir sung er said.
Fur every time I’d turn my head
I couldn’t skeercely help but see
’At Zekel had his eye on me.
An’ he ’ud sort o’ turn an’ twist
An’ grind his teeth an’ shake his fist.
I laughed, fur la! the hull church seen us,
An’ knowed that suthin’ was between us.
Well, meetin’ out, we started hum,
I sorter feelin’ what would come.
We’d jest got out, when up stepped Zeke,
An’ said, “Scuse me, I’d like to speak
To you a minute.” “Cert,” said I—
A-nudgin’ Liza on the sly
An’ laughin’ in my sleeve with glee,
I asked her, please, to pardon me.
We walked away a step er two,
Jest to git out o’ Liza’s view,
An’ then Zeke said, “I want to know
Ef you think you’re Eliza’s beau,
An’ ’at I’m goin’ to let her go
Hum with sich a chap as you?”
An’ I said bold, “You bet I do.”
Then Zekel, sneerin’, said ’at he
Didn’t want to hender me,
But then he ’lowed the gal was his
An’ ’at he guessed he knowed his biz,
An’ wasn’t feared o’ all my kin
With all my friends an’ chums throwed in.
Some other things he mentioned there
That no born man could no ways bear
Er think o’ ca’mly tryin’ to stan’
Ef Zeke had be’n the bigges’ man
In town, an’ not the leanest runt
’At time an’ labor ever stunt.
An’ so I let my fist go “bim.”
I thought I’d mos’ nigh finished him.
But Zekel didn’t take it so.
He jest ducked down an’ dodged my blow
An’ then come back at me so hard,
I guess I must ’a’ hurt the yard,
Er spilet the grass plot where I fell,
An’ sakes alive it hurt me; well,
It wouldn’t be’n so bad you see,
But he jest kep’ a-hittin’ me.
An’ I hit back an’ kicked an’ pawed,
But ’t seemed ’twas mostly air I clawed,
While Zekel used his science well
A-makin’ every motion tell.
He punched an’ hit, why, goodness lands,
Seemed like he had a dozen hands.
Well, afterwhile, they stopped the fuss,
An’ some one kindly parted us.
All beat an’ cuffed an’ clawed an’ scratched,
An’ needin’ both our faces patched,
Each started hum a different way;
An’ what o’ Liza, do you say,
Why, Liza—little humbug—darn her,
Why, she’d gone home with Hiram Turner.

—Copyright by Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, and used by special
arrangement.
 THE FIRST FURROW
By James J. Montague

Don’t you ever feel a yearnin’, ’long about this time o’ year,
For a robin’s song to tell you that the summer time is near?
Don’t you ever sort o’ hanker for the blackbird’s whistlin’ call,
Echoin’ through the hillside orchard, where the blossoms used to
fall?
Don’t you wish that you were out there, breathin’ in the April air,
Full o’ glad an’ careless boyhood, an’ with strength an’ health to
spare?
Don’t it hurt you to remember, when the springtime comes around,
How the first, long, rollin’ furrow used to wake the sleepy ground?

How’d you like to take the children, born to dirty city streets,
Out to where the brook goes pulsin’ when the heart o’ nature beats?
How’d you like to watch ’em wonder at the boomin’ of the bees,
Or to see ’em dodge the petals that are snowin’ from the trees?
How’d you like to see their faces catch the color o’ the rose,
As they raced across the meadow where the earliest crocus grows?
Wouldn’t it be joy to watch ’em follow on behind the plow,
As it cut the first brown furrow, like it’s doin’ out there now?

SUNSHINE
By Fred Emerson Brooks

Some people have the sunshine,

While others have the rain;
But God don’t change the weather
Because the folks complain.
Don’t waste your time in grumbling,
Nor wrinkle up your brow;
Some other soul has trouble,
Most likely has it now.

When nature lies in shadow,

 On damp and cloudy days,
Don’t blame the sun, good people,
But loan a few bright rays.
The sun is always shining
Above the misty shroud,
And if your world be murky,
The fault lies in the cloud.

Take sunshine to your neighbor,

In all you do and say;
Have sunshine in your labor,
And sunshine in your play.
Where’er the storm-cloud lowers,
Take in the sunlight glow,
And Heaven will show what flowers
From seeds of kindness grow.

—Copyright by Forbes & Co., Chicago, and used by kind

permission of author and publisher.

“CICELY”
ALKALI STATION
By Bret Harte

Cicely says you’re a poet: maybe; I ain’t much on rhyme:

I reckon you’d give me a hundred, and beat me every time.
Poetry!—that’s the way some chaps puts up an idee,
But I takes mine “straight without sugar,” and that’s what’s the matter
with me.

Poetry!—just look round you,—alkali, rock, and sage;

Sage-brush, rock, and alkali; ain’t it a pretty page!
Sun in the east at mornin’, sun in the west at night,
And the shadow of this ’yer station the on’y thing moves in sight.

Poetry!—Well now—Polly! Polly run to your mam;

Run right away, my pooty! By by! Ain’t she a lamb?
Poetry!—that reminds me o’ suthin’ right in that suit:
Jest shet that door thar, will yer?—for Cicely’s ears is cute.

Ye noticed Polly,—the baby? A month afore she was born,

Cicely—my old woman—was moody-like and forlorn;
Out of her head and crazy, and talked of flowers and trees;
Family man yourself, sir? Well, you know what a woman be’s.

Narvous she was, and restless,—said that she “couldn’t stay,”

Stay,—and the nearest woman seventeen miles away.
But I fixed it up with the doctor, and he said he would be on hand,
And I kinder stuck by the shanty, and fenced in that bit o’ land.

One night,—the tenth of October,—I woke with a chill and fright,

For the door it was standing open, and Cicely warn’t in sight,
But a note was pinned on the blanket, which said that she “couldn’t
stay,”
But had gone to visit her neighbor,—seventeen miles away.

When and how she stampeded, I didn’t wait for to see,

For out in the road, next minit, I started as wild as she:
Running first this way and that way, like a hound that is off the scent,
For there warn’t no track in the darkness to tell me the way she went.

I’ve had some mighty mean moments afore I kem to this spot,—
Lost on the plains in ’50, drowned almost, and shot;
But out on this alkali desert, a hunting a crazy wife,
Was ra’ly as on-satis-factory as anything in my life.

“Cicely! Cicely! Cicely!” I called, and I held my breath,

And “Cicely!” came from the canyon,—and all was as still as death.
And “Cicely! Cicely! Cicely!” came from the rocks below,
And jest but a whisper of “Cicely!” down from them peaks of snow.

I ain’t what you call religious,—but I jest looked up to the sky,

And—this ’yer’s to what I’m coming, and maybe ye think I lie:
But up away to the east’ard, yaller and big and far,
I saw of a suddent rising the singlerist kind of star.
Big and yaller and dancing, it seemed to beckon to me:
Yaller and big and dancing, such as you never see:
Big and yaller and dancing,—I never saw such a star,
And I thought of them sharps in the Bible, and I went for it then and
thar.

Over the brush and bowlders I stumbled and pushed ahead:

Keeping the star afore me, I went wharever it led.
It might hev been for an hour, when suddent and peart and nigh,
Out of the yearth afore me thar riz up a baby’s cry.

Listen! thar’s the same music; but her lungs they are stronger now
Than the day I packed her and her mother,—I’m derned if I jest know
how.
But the doctor kem the next minit, and the joke o’ the whole thing is
That Cis. never knew what happened from that very night to this!

But Cicely says you’re a poet, and maybe you might, some day,
Jest sling her a rhyme ’bout a baby that was born in a curious way,
And see what she says; but, old fellow, when you speak of the star,
don’t tell
As how ’twas the doctor’s lantern,—for maybe ’twon’t sound so well.

—Copyright by Houghton Mifflin & Co., Boston, and used by their

kind permission.

AN ORDER FOR A PICTURE

By Alice Cary

O good painter, tell me true,

Has your hand the cunning to draw
Shapes of things that you never saw?
Ay? Well, here is an order for you.

Woods and cornfields, a little brown,—

The picture must not be over-bright,—
Yet all in the golden and gracious light
Of a cloud, when the summer sun is down.

Alway and alway, night and morn,

Woods upon woods, with fields of corn
Lying between them, not quite sere,
And not in the full thick, leafy bloom,
When the wind can hardly find breathing-room
Under their tassels,—cattle near,
Biting shorter the short green grass,
And a hedge of sumach and sassafras,
With bluebirds twittering all around,—
(Ah, good painter, you can’t paint sound)—
These and the house where I was born,
Low and little, and black and old,
With children, many as it can hold,
All at the windows, open wide,—
Heads and shoulders clear outside,
And fair young faces all ablush:
Perhaps you may have seen, some day,
Roses crowding the selfsame way,
Out of a wilding, wayside bush.
Listen closer. When you have done
With woods and cornfields and grazing herds,
A lady, the loveliest ever the sun
Looked down upon, you must paint for me;
Oh, if I only could make you see
The clear blue eyes, the tender smile,
The sovereign sweetness, the gentle grace,
The woman’s soul, and the angel’s face
That are beaming on me all the while!—
I need not speak these foolish words:
Yet one word tells you all I would say,—
She is my mother: you will agree
That all the rest may be thrown away.

Two little urchins at her knee

You must paint, sir: one like me,—
 The other with a clearer brow,
And the light of his adventurous eyes
Flashing with boldest enterprise:
At ten years old he went to sea,—
God knoweth if he be living now,—
He sailed in the good ship Commodore,—
Nobody ever crossed her track
To bring us news, and she never came back.
Ah, ’tis twenty long years and more
Since that old ship went out of the bay
With my great-hearted brother on her deck;
I watched him till he shrank to a speck,
And his face was toward me all the way.
Bright his hair was, a golden brown,
The time we stood at our mother’s knee:
That beauteous head, if it did go down,
Carried sunshine into the sea.

Out in the fields one summer night

We were together, half afraid
Of the corn leaves rustling, and of the shade
Of the high hills, stretching so far and still,—
Loitering till after the low little light
Of the candle shone through the open door,
And over the haystack’s pointed top,
All of a tremble, and ready to drop,
The first half-hour, the great yellow star
That we with staring, ignorant eyes,
Had often and often watched to see
Propped and held in its place in the skies
By the fork of a tall, red mulberry tree,
Which close in the edge of our flax-field grew,—
Dead at the top—just one branch full
Of leaves, notched round, and lined with wool,
From which it tenderly shook the dew
Over our heads, when we came to play
In its handbreadth of shadow, day after day:—
 Afraid to go home, sir; for one of us bore
A nest full of speckled and thin-shelled eggs,—
The other, a bird held fast by the legs,
Not so big as a straw of wheat:
The berries we gave her she wouldn’t eat,
But cried and cried, till we held her bill,
So slim and shining, to keep her still.

ONE, TWO, THREE

By Henry C. Bunner

It was an old, old, old, old lady,

And a boy who was half-past three,
And the way that they played together
Was beautiful to see.

She couldn’t go running and jumping,

And the boy, no more could he;
For he was a thin little fellow,
With a thin little twisted knee.

They sat in the yellow sunlight,

Out under the maple tree;
And the game that they played I’ll tell you,
Just as it was told to me.

It was hide-and-go-seek they were playing,

Though you’d never have known it to be—
With an old, old, old, old lady,
And a boy with a twisted knee.

The boy would bend his face down

On his one little sound right knee,
And he’d guess where she was hiding,
In guesses One, Two, Three.

“You are in the china closet!”

 He would cry, and laugh with glee.
It wasn’t the china closet;
But he still had Two and Three.

“You are up in papa’s big bedroom,

In the chest with the queer old key!”
And she said: “You are warm and warmer;
But you’re not quite right,” said she.

“It can’t be the little cupboard

Where Mamma’s things used to be,
So it must be the clothespress, Gran’ma!”
And he found her with his Three.

Then she covered her face with her fingers,

That were wrinkled and white and wee,
And she guessed where the boy was hiding,
With a One and a Two and a Three.

And they never had stirred from their places,

Right under the maple tree—
This old, old, old, old lady,
And the boy with a lame little knee;
This dear, dear, dear old lady,
And the boy who was half-past three.

RECIPROCITY
By H. Bedford-Jones

Would you have men play square with you,

Play fair with you, and bear with you
In all the little weaknesses so easy to condemn?
Then simply try to do the same—
Hold up your head and play the game,
And when the others are to blame
Be sure to bear with them!
Would you have men, when new to you,
 Be true to you and do to you
The things that faith and brother-love and nothing else impel?
Then give them faith and brother-love
And set sincerity above
All other things—and it will prove
That you have builded well!

THE YOUNG TRAMP

By Chas. F. Adams

Hello, thar, stranger! Whar yer frum?

Come in and make yerself ter hum!
We’re common folks, ain’t much on style;
Come in and stop a little while;
’Twon’t do no harm ter rest yer some.

Youngster, yer pale, and don’t look well!

What, way from Bosting? Naow, dew tell!
Why, that’s a hundred mile or so;
What started yer, I’d like ter know,
On sich a tramp; got goods ter sell?

No home, no friends? Naow that’s too bad!

Wall, cheer up, boy, and don’t be sad,—
Wife, see what yer can find ter eat,
And put the coffee on ter heat,—
We’ll fix yer up all right, my lad.

Willing ter work, can’t git a job,

And not a penny in yer fob?
Wall, naow, that’s rough, I dew declare!
What, tears? Come, youngster, I can’t bear
Ter see yer take on so, and sob.

How came yer so bad off, my son?

Father was killed? ’Sho’; whar? Bull Run?
Why, I was in that scrimmage, lad,
And got used up, too, pretty bad;
I shan’t forgit old ’sixty-one!

So yer were left in Bosting, hey!

A baby when he went away?
Those Bosting boys were plucky, wife,
Yer know one of ’em saved my life,
Else I would not be here to-day.

’Twas when the “Black Horse Cavalcade”

Swept down on our small brigade,
I got the shot that made me lame,
When down on me a trooper came,
And this ’ere chap struck up his blade.

Poor feller! He was stricken dead;

The trooper’s sabre cleaved his head.
Joe Billings was my comrade’s name,
He was a Bosting boy, and game!
I almost wished I’d died, instead.

Why, lad! what makes yer tremble so?

Your father! what, my comrade Joe?
And you his son? Come ter my heart.
My home is yours; I’ll try in part,
Ter pay his boy the debt I owe.

HULLO!
By Sam Walter Foss

When you see a man in woe,

Walk straight up and say, “Hullo!”
Say “Hullo!” and “How d’ye do?
How’s the world been using you?”
Slap the fellow on his back,
Bring your hand down with a whack!
Waltz straight up and don’t go slow,
Shake his hand and say “Hullo!”

Is he clothed in rags? Oh, ho.

Walk straight up and say “Hullo!”
Rags are but a cotton roll
Just for wrapping up a soul;
And a soul is worth a true
Hale and hearty “How d’ye do?”
Don’t wait for the crowd to go.
Walk straight up and say “Hullo!”

When big vessels meet, they say,

They salute and sail away;
Just the same as you and me,
Lonely ships upon the sea,
Each one sailing his own jog
For a port beyond the fog;
Let your speaking trumpet blow,
Lift your horn and cry, “Hullo!”

Say “Hullo!” and “How d’ye do?”

Other folks are good as you.
When you leave your house of clay,
Wandering in the far away,
When you travel through the strange
Country far beyond the range,
Then the souls you’ve cheered will know
Who you be, and say “Hullo!”

COLUMBUS
By Arthur Hugh Clough

How in heaven’s name did Columbus get over,

Is a pure wonder to me, I protest,
Cabot, and Raleigh, too, that well-read rover,
Frobisher, Dampier, Drake, and the rest;
 Bad enough all the same,
For them that after came;
But in great heaven’s name,
How he should think
That on the other brink
Of this wild waste, terra firma should be,
Is a pure wonder, I must say, to me.

How a man should ever hope to get thither,

E’en if he knew that there was another side;
But to suppose he should come any whither,
Sailing straight on into chaos untried,
In spite of the motion,
Across the whole ocean,
To stick to the notion
That in some nook or bend
Of a sea without end,
He should find North and South America,
Was a pure madness, indeed, I must say.

What if wise men had, as far back as Ptolemy,

Judged that the earth like an orange was round,
None of them ever said, Come along, follow me,
Sail to the West, and the East will be found.
Many a day before
Ever they’d come ashore
Sadder and wiser men,
They’d have turned back again;
And that he did not, but did cross the sea,
Is a pure wonder, I must say, to me.

—Copyright by Macmillan & Co., New York, and used by

arrangement.

THE USUAL WAY

Anonymous
There was once a little man, and his rod and line he took,
For he said, “I’ll go a-fishing in the neighboring brook.”
And it chanced a little maiden was walking out that day,
And they met—in the usual way.

Then he sat down beside her, and an hour or two went by,
But still upon the grassy brink his rod and line did lie;
“I thought,” she shyly whispered, “you’d be fishing all the day!”
And he was—in the usual way.

So he gravely took his rod in hand and threw the line about,
But the fish perceived distinctly he was not looking out;
And he said, “Sweetheart, I love you,” but she said she could not
stay,
But she did—in the usual way.

Then the stars came out above them, and she gave a little sigh
As they watched the silver ripples like the moments running by;
“We must say good-by,” she whispered by the alders old and gray.
And they did—in the usual way.

And day by day beside the stream, they wandered to and fro,
And day by day the fishes swam securely down below,
Till this little story ended, as such little stories may,
Very much—in the usual way.

And now that they are married, do they always bill and coo?
Do they never fret and quarrel, like other couples do?
Does he cherish her and love her? Does she honor and obey?
Well, they do—in the usual way.
 HUMOROUS SELECTIONS IN POETRY

LITTLE MISS STUDY AND LITTLE MISS PLAY

By Fred Emerson Brooks

Little Miss Study and little Miss Play,

Each came to the school from an opposite way;
While little Miss Study could always recite,
This little Miss Play hardly ever was right;
For little Miss Study found she could do more
By learning her lessons the evening before;
But, fond of a frolic, this little Miss Play
Would put off her lessons until the next day.
At the head of her class Miss Study was put,
While little Miss Play had to stay at the foot!
Thus little Miss Study and little Miss Play
Went onward through life—in an opposite way.

—Copyright by Forbes & Co., Chicago, and used by kind

permission of author and publisher.

A SIMILAR CASE
Anonymous

Jack, I hear you’ve gone and done it,—

Yes, I know; most fellows will;
Went and tried it once myself, sir,
Though you see I’m single still.
And you met her—did you tell me—
Down at Newport, last July,
And resolved to ask the question
At a soiree?—So did I.

I suppose you left the ball-room,

With its music and its light;
For they say Love’s flame is brightest
In the darkness of the night.
Well, you walked along together,
Overhead, the starlit sky;
And I’ll bet—old man, confess it—
You were frightened.—So was I.

So you strolled along the terrace,

Saw the summer moonlight pour,
All its radiance on the waters,
As they rippled on the shore,
Till at length you gathered courage,
When you saw that none was nigh—
Did you draw her close and tell her,
That you loved her?—So did I.

Well, I needn’t ask you further,

And I’m sure I wish you joy,
Think I’ll wander down and see you
When you’re married,—eh, my boy?
When the honeymoon is over
And you’re settled down, we’ll try—
What? The deuce you say! Rejected?
You rejected?—So was I.

IRISH CASTLES
By Fitz-James O’Brien

“Sweet Norah, come here, and look into the fire;

Maybe in its embers good luck we might see;
But don’t come too near, or your glances so shining,
Will put it clean out, like the sunbeams, machree!

“Just look ’twixt the sods, where so brightly they’re burning,

There’s a sweet little valley, with rivers and trees,
And a house on the bank, quite as big as the squire’s—
Who knows but some day we’ll have something like these?

“And now there’s a coach and four galloping horses,

A coachman to drive, and a footman behind;
That betokens some day we will keep a fine carriage,
And dash through the streets with the speed of the wind.”

As Dermot was speaking, the rain down the chimney,

Soon quenched the turf-fire on the hollowed hearth-stone:
While mansion and carriage, in smoke-wreaths evanished,
And left the poor dreamer dejected and lone.

Then Norah to Dermot, these words softly whispered:

“’Tis better to strive than to vainly desire:
And our little hut by the roadside is better
Than palace, and servants, and coach—in the fire!”

’Tis years since poor Dermot his fortune was dreaming—

Since Norah’s sweet counsel effected its cure;
For, ever since then hath he toiled night and morning,
And now his snug mansion looks down on the Suir.

THE DEACON’S DRIVE

By Fred Emerson Brooks

Good Deacon Jones, although a pious man,

Was not constructed on the meager plan;
And he so loved the Sabbath day of rest,
Of all the seven deemed it far the best;
Could he have made the year’s allotment o’er,
He would have put in many rest-days more.
One Sunday morn, on sacred matters bent,
With his good wife, to church the deacon went.
And since there was no fear of being late,
The horse slow jogged along his Sunday gait.
This horse he got by trading with a Jew,
And called him Moses,—nothing else would do.
He’d been a race-horse in his palmy days,
But now had settled down, to pious ways,—
Save now and then backsliding from his creed,
When overtempted to a burst of speed.

’Twas early, and the deacon’s wife was driving,

While from the book the deacon hard was striving
On sacred things to concentrate his mind—
The sound of clattering hoofs is heard behind;
Old Mose pricked up his ears and sniffed the air;
The deacon mused: “Some racers, I declare!
Fast horse, fast man, fast speeds the life away,
While sluggish blood is slow to disobey!”
He closed the book; he’d read enough of psalms—
And, looking backward, spat upon his palms,
Then grabbed the sagging reins: “Land sakes alive!
It’s late, Jerushee, guess I’d better drive!”

The wife suspects there’s something on his mind;

Adjusts her spectacles and looks behind:
“Pull out, good Silas, let that sinner past
Who breaks the Sabbath day by drivin’ fast!
What pretty horses; he’s some city chap;
My, how he drives; he’ll meet with some mishap!
Be quick thar, Silas; further to the side;
He’s comin’; thank the Lord the road is wide!
Jes’ look at Mose; if he ain’t in fer war!
Say, Silas, what on earth you bracin’ for?
Old man, have you forgot what day it is?”
“Git up thar, Mose! Jerushee, mind yer biz!”
“Upon my soul, look how that nag’s a-pacin’;
Why, Silas, dear, I do believe you’re racin’!
Land sakes alive, what will the people say?
Good Deacon Jones a-racin’, Sabbath day!”

“Jerushee, now you hold yer pious tongue,