1. Ice-cream Man (Poem)

📝 Summary & Explanation (Stanza-wise)

🧁 Stanza 1:

When summer’s in the city,
And bricks blaze bright with heat,
The Ice-cream Man with his little cart
Goes trundling down the street.

Explanation:
During the hot summer days, when everything around (like bricks and roads) becomes extremely hot, the children see a joyful sight — the Ice-cream Man pushing his cart through the streets. The word “trundling” means slowly moving, showing his gentle movement in the heat.

🍧 Stanza 2:

Beneath his round umbrella,
Oh, what a joyful sight,
To see him fill the cones with mounds
Of cooling brown and white!

Explanation:
The Ice-cream Man stands under a big, round umbrella to protect himself from the sun. He fills the cones with heaps of ice cream — usually in two popular flavors: brown (chocolate) and white (vanilla). This makes the children very happy!

🍨 Stanza 3:

Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry,
Or chilly things to drink
From bottles full of frosty-fizz,
Green, orange, white, or pink.

Explanation:
He doesn’t just sell ice cream — he also has cold drinks in bottles, which fizz and are chilled. These drinks come in different colors like green, orange, white, and pink. All of it looks very refreshing and tempting in the summer heat.

🍦 Stanza 4:

His cart might be a flower bed
Of roses and sweet peas,
The way the children cluster round
As thick as honeybees.

Explanation:
The poet compares the Ice-cream cart to a beautiful flower bed. Why? Because the children surround it with joy and excitement — just like honeybees buzzing around flowers! It shows how excited kids are when they see the Ice-cream Man.

💬 Moral / Theme:

The poem brings out the joy of summer for children. It shows how a simple thing like an ice cream or cold drink can make kids happy. The Ice-cream Man brings relief, fun, and cheer on hot days.