Part 7

It was breaking-up day at school, and the children were having buns and tea. Each child had brought a clean pocket-handkerchief, and spread it on the desk for a tablecloth. Then the teacher gave out the buns; nice large buns they were, with sugar on the top, and there were just a few left over, after one had been given to each child. Next a cup of tea was placed on each desk, and the tea-party went on merrily.

But why does Stephen take such large bites, and fill his mouth so full? And why is he eating so quickly? See, his bun is finished now, and he is asking for another! "Oh! Stephie, naughty boy, you have gobbled up your bun as fast as you could, because you were afraid the buns left over would be used up before you asked for more. That was =greedy=."

Do not be greedy, boys and girls. Never mind how hungry you are; eat slowly and nicely, and pass things to others. It is so selfish to think only of your =own= wants, and not to care how other people are getting on. "Greediness" is an ugly word, and no one likes to see greedy children.

(Blackboard.)

It is Rude and Vulgar to be Greedy.

XXXV. BOASTING.

82. The Stag and his Horns.

Have you ever seen a stag with its graceful, branching horns?

There is a fable told of a stag who went to a pool to drink, and seeing himself reflected in the water, he said: "Dear me, how beautiful are my horns; what a nice, graceful appearance they give to me! My legs are quite slender, and not at all beautiful, but my horns are handsome." When the hunters came, however, the stag found that his slender legs were very useful, for by means of them he could run away from his enemies, and if it had not been that his horns caught in the branches of a tree and held him fast, he might have escaped.

You see how foolish it was of the stag to =boast= about his fine horns; and we are just as foolish when =we= boast of anything that we have, or of anything we can do.

Boasting often leads to untruth, as in (Story Lesson 11) "The Three Feathers". It is always vulgar to pretend that we are better than our neighbours, and people who boast generally try to make one believe that they =are= cleverer or richer or better than somebody else. Let us be like the modest violet, who hides her beauty, rather than be boastful and foolish, as the stag was.

(Blackboard.)

It is Foolish and Vulgar to Boast.

XXXVI. WASTEFULNESS.

83. The Little Girl who was Lost.

A little girl wandered away from home one morning and got lost in a wood. She tried in vain to find the way home again, but she could not, and then she sat down and cried, for she was so tired, and oh! =so= hungry. She thought of the many crusts of bread and pieces of meat that she had often left on her plate at home, and how glad she would have been to eat them now. It was evening when her friends found her, and took her safely home; we will hope that she remembered that hungry day in the woods, and did not waste any more pieces of bread afterwards.

If you think of the many poor people who have scarcely enough to eat, you will see how wrong it is to waste anything. When we have more than we need, let us give it to those who have not enough, and never forget that

(Blackboard)

It is Wrong to Waste.

XXXVII. LAZINESS.

84. The Sluggard.

You will hear of a great king (in Story Lesson 90) who had a throne of ivory overlaid with gold. When you are old enough to read the words he wrote (Proverbs) you will find that he always kept his eyes wide open and noticed things.

As the king was taking a walk one day, he passed by a vineyard, which is another name for a grape-garden, and he noticed that the wall was broken down. He looked farther, and saw that the vines were all trailing on the ground, instead of being tied up, and worse still, they were all grown over with nettles and thorns--the beautiful grape vines that give such rich, delicious fruit. "How is this?" thought the king, and he began to consider. "Ah!" said he, "this vineyard belongs to the man who likes 'a little sleep,' 'a little slumber,' and who would rather fold his hands and go to sleep again than use them to work in his garden. And what will be the end of it all? He will soon be poor, and have nothing to eat, while his lovely grapes which would have sold for money if he had looked after them, lie there buried and spoilt by the nettles and thorns."

It is quite right to sleep through the dark night, but this man slept in the daytime as well, instead of weeding his garden, and tying up the grapes, so we say he was a sluggard. What an ugly word it is! Would =you= like to be a sluggard? No, indeed you would not. Then remember this:--

(Blackboard)

Never be Lazy.

XXXVIII. ON BEING ASHAMED.

85. The Elephant that Stole the Cakes.[16]

Far away in a country called India there are many elephants, which are used for hunting, and also for carrying burdens.

One evening a driver brought his elephant home, and chained him to a tree; then he went a short distance away, and made an oven to bake his cakes for supper. You will wonder how this was done.

First he dug a hole in the ground, in which to place his fuel, and when he had set the fuel alight, he covered it with a flat stone or plate of iron, and on this he put his rice cakes to bake. He then covered them up with grass and stones and went away.

The elephant had been watching all this, and when the man was gone, he unfastened the chain which was round his leg with his trunk, went to the oven, uncovered the cakes, and took them off with his trunk and ate them. (Perhaps he waited a little while until they cooled, for the elephant does not like his food hot.) Then he put back the grass as before, and returned to the tree. He could not manage to fasten the chain round his leg again, so he just twisted it round as well as he could, and stood with his back to the oven as if nothing had happened.

By-and-by the driver returned, and went to see if his cakes were ready. They were all gone, and the elephant was peeping over his shoulder to see what would happen next. The driver knew by his guilty look that =he= was the thief; the elephant knew he had done wrong and was ashamed.

Let us not do anything that we need be ashamed of. We know what is right better than the elephant, because we can think better.

(Blackboard.)

Do nothing that you need be ashamed of.

FOOTNOTE:

[16] Romanes' _Animal Intelligence_.

XXXIX. EARS AND NO EARS.

86. Heedless Albert.

"Listen, boys," said the teacher, "I am going to tell you about a land across the sea, not much more than twenty miles from England--the sunny land of France." So he went on to tell them of the vines loaded with grapes, from which wine is made; of the apples growing by the roadside, and of the French people, how gay and merry they are, and how neatly the poor people dress.

Many more interesting things he told them, and then he said: "Now, take your papers, and write down all that you can remember about France". The boys set to work, and soon all were very busy, except one--a boy named Albert, who could not think of anything to write, and who, when the papers were collected had not managed to pen a single line. How was this, do you think? It was simply because he had =not attended= to the teacher when he was speaking, and so he could not remember anything that had been told him.

One day, when Albert was about ten years old, his mother sent him to a farm for some eggs. He had not been to the farm before, but his mother told him exactly which way to go, and if he had listened he could have found it easily.

In about an hour Albert came back, swinging the empty basket. He had not been able to find the farm. Why? Because he did not =attend= when his mother was telling him the way.

You will readily see that a child who does not attend cannot learn much, and will never be bright and clever, nor of much use in helping others.

(Blackboard.)

Do not be Heedless; Listen and Attend.

87. Olive and Gertie.

Olive and Gertie were walking along a country road, and high up in the sky a lark poured forth his sweet song.

"How beautifully that skylark sings," said Olive; "it is worth while to come out into the country just to hear it."

"I did not hear it," said Gertie, swinging her parasol.

"It is there, right overhead," exclaimed Olive; "do look, Gertie; it will drop like a stone when it gets nearer the ground."

"Oh! I cannot trouble to look up," replied Gertie, "it makes my neck ache."

By-and-by they passed a field of oats, nearly ripe, and as the wind swayed them to and fro, they made a pleasant rustling sound.

"How nice it is to hear the corn as it rustles in the wind," said Olive, "and listen, Gertie, is not this a pretty tinkling sound?"

Olive had plucked one of the ears of oats, and was shaking its little bells close to her friend's ear.

"It is nothing," said Gertie.

"To me it is lovely," replied Olive, "and the tinkle of the harebells is just as sweet."

Then a bee went buzzing by, and Olive liked to hear its drowsy hum, but Gertie did not notice it.

Presently they were on the edge of the cliffs, and could hear the splash of the waves as they rolled in and broke on the beach.

"Surely you like to hear 'the song of the sea,'" said Olive, but Gertie made no reply--she was thinking of something else.

Do not be like Gertie, who seemed as if she had "No Ears," but, like Olive, keep your ears open to all the sweet and pleasant sounds.

The fire makes a pleasant sound as it burns and crackles in the grate, and who does not like to hear the "singing" of the kettle on the hob? How musical is the flow of the stream, and do you not love to hear the splash of the oars as they dip in the river? or the sound made by the bow of the boat as it cuts through the water? Some people like to hear the "thud" of a great steamer as it ploughs its way through the sea, and everybody loves the sound of the wind as it whispers in the trees.

The sounds that we hear in the fields and woods are called "voices of nature," let us listen to them, for they speak to us of God's love.

(Blackboard.)

Listen to the Voices of Nature; They Speak of God's Love.

(Let the children enumerate some of the pleasant "sounds" mentioned, and the teacher might then write them on the Blackboard.)

XL. EYES AND NO EYES.

88. The Two Brothers.

Have you ever heard of the "Black Country"? It is a part of England where there are many furnaces and iron-works, and a great deal of smoke; that is why it is called by this name.

Two boys, named Francis and Algie, lived in this district, for their father was an iron-worker, and one evening they went out for a long walk. They were away two or three hours, and when they returned their mother said: "Well, boys, what did you see in your walk?"

"Nothing, mother," replied Algie, "there is nothing pretty to be seen; it is all black and ugly."

"Ah!" said Francis, "but there was the =sky=, and that was beautiful, for we were walking towards the sunset, and the colours were changing all the time. First the sky seemed to be all over gold, and then as the sun went down it changed to red; next when I looked there were shades of a lovely green or blue, which soon changed to dark red; it was the loveliest sunset I have ever seen."

How strange it was that, although both boys had eyes, only one of them saw anything worth seeing! Francis was the boy with "eyes," while Algie was as though he had "no eyes". Keep your eyes open, children, and try to see all that is beautiful. It is such a pity when people grow up and walk about without seeing anything. There is always something to see in the sky. Sometimes it is all a lovely blue, with white, fleecy clouds floating across it, or piled up in curly masses; and at night it is of a deeper blue, and the stars come peeping out, reminding us in their beauty of goodness and God:--

Thou Who hast sown the sky with stars-- Setting Thy thoughts in gold.

And the silver moon, which is always changing its shape, how lovely that is! Do not forget to look for the beauty of the sky.

89. Ruby and the Wall.

Little Ruby was not two years old, but she always noticed things, and tried to find out their names.

One day when she was walking out with her auntie they passed a stone wall. Ruby looked at it, and then glancing up said, "Wall".

"Yes," said auntie. "What is the wall made of?"

"Coal," answered Ruby quite seriously. (I suppose the blocks of stone reminded her of the same shape in the coals.)

"No, it is not coal," said auntie.

Ruby was puzzled, and thought for a little, then she said, "Wash it".

You see she had never heard the word "stone," and as her little hands, when dirty, became lighter coloured with =washing=, she thought that stone must be "washed" coal. It was wrong, of course, but it shows you that tiny Ruby used her eyes, and =thought= about things.

(Blackboard.)

Two kinds of eyes:-- 1. Eyes that See--Francis, Ruby. 2. Eyes that do not See--Algie.

XLI. LOVE OF THE BEAUTIFUL.[17]

90. The Daisy.

You have often gathered buttercups and daisies, but have you ever gazed into the daisy's yellow eye, and thought how wonderful it was? You will find that it is made up of many tiny flowerets, all packed closely together. And the fringe of white petals, tipped with pink, how beautiful =they= are! and so dainty that we might almost think they had been painted by the pencil of a fairy! And have you noticed the strong, green cup which closes round the petals at night, and keeps them all safe?

You have held the pretty buttercup under your chin to make it look yellow, but have you ever looked carefully at the shining petals of gold? How smooth, and clear, and glossy they are!

There was once a great, wise king, who was so rich that he had plates and cups of gold instead of china. He made a beautiful throne of ivory, with six lions on the one side and six on the other, and the throne was all overlaid with gold; how bright and glittering it would be! And then picture the king himself in his robes of state, seated on his gilded throne, how dazzling and beautiful it would all look! And yet the greatest Teacher who ever lived--He who took the little children in his arms--said that the great King Solomon, with his throne of ivory and gold, "in all his glory" was not so beautiful as the lily growing in the field. So you see the best of all beauty is close beside us, at our feet indeed, if we only have eyes to see it.

Dear little modest daisy, I love your yellow eye, I love the pink-tipped petals That round the centre lie; I love the pretty buttercup Of lovely, shining gold; I love it, for it speaks to me, Of wondrous love untold.

You have heard of other beautiful sights and sounds in the Story Lessons that have gone before (87, 88), and in the Story Lesson which follows you will learn =why= it is good to love all these beautiful things.

FOOTNOTE:

[17] The guessing rhymes, Nos. 74 to 82, headed "Natural Phenomena," in _Games Without Music_, would follow this Story Lesson appropriately.

XLII. ON DESTROYING THINGS.

91. Beauty and Goodness.

Why do we hang pictures on the walls, and put plants in the windows? Because we want to make the room look pretty.

Why do we love the flowers and the trees, the bright green fields and the waving yellow corn? Why are we so glad to be near the sea, with its glorious, rolling waves, and to bask in the warm, bright rays of the sun? Because they are =all= beautiful, and when we love what is beautiful it helps us to love what is good; and when we love =goodness= we love God, who gave us all this beauty.

Now you will see why it is so wicked to =destroy= beautiful things. When a boy carves his name on a tree, or breaks off its graceful branches, he =destroys= that which is good, instead of loving it; and how can he grow up gentle and true if he does not love beauty and goodness? Sometimes people put iron railings round their gardens, and you will have noticed that they are often finished off with a pointed pattern at the top, to make them look pretty. When a boy comes along and knocks off the points, he makes the railings look =ugly= instead of pretty. He would never think of destroying the pictures that hang on the walls of his home, or of throwing the plants away that stand in the window, yet he destroys things that are =not his=, and that other people have put there to make their houses look nice. I am sure you will say this is not right; it is =downright wrong=, just as wrong as it would be for me to go and break that boy's slate, or to snap his wickets in two when he is wanting a game of cricket, and it is all for want of =thinking=.

It is quite dreadful to know that so many cruel, unkind things are done, just because boys and girls do not trouble to =think=! But I hope that =you=, dear children, =will think=, and keep your little hands from spoiling anything.

(Blackboard.)

It is Wrong to Spoil and Destroy.

XLIII. ON TURNING BACK WHEN WRONG.

92. The Lost Path.

A boy named Eric was coming home from school. There were two ways that he could take--one was a path through the fields, and the other was a winding road. It was winter time, and there was snow on the ground. Eric chose the field path, for it was the shorter of the two, but he had not gone far when it began to snow very fast. The snow-flakes were so large, and fell so quickly, that there was very soon quite a thick carpet on the ground, and before long Eric found that he could not see the path, and he scarcely knew where he was. If he had only turned round just then, he could have seen his own footprints in the snow, and following them, would have got back to the road safely, but he did not want to do this, so he went on and on until he was lost entirely, and had not the least idea as to which was the way home.

Then he determined to turn back, and try to reach the road, but where are his footprints? All covered up with snow. Eric felt ready to cry, but he struggled on as long as he could, and then a great drowsiness came over him, and he fell down in the snow.

It is just like that with wrong-doing, if we do not turn back at once, it becomes more and more difficult to find the path, and sometimes the wrong-doer loses it altogether.

When Eric did not come home from school his parents became very anxious, and his father accompanied by the dog went out to seek him. First he took the way by the road, then he came over the field-path, and the dog ran sniffing about in the snow, until he came to what looked like a white mound, and there was Eric half-buried in the snow. You can imagine how pleased the father was when he had his boy safe in his arms, and how gladly he carried him home, for if Eric had not been found quickly, he must have died. Remember Eric in the snow, and

(Blackboard.)

When you have gone Wrong, Turn Back at Once.

XLIV. ONE BAD "STONE" MAY SPOIL THE "TEMPLE".

93. Intemperance.

From all these Story Lessons you will see that there are a great many "stones" for the building of "character".

But there is another thought, which is this: a =bad= "stone," =one= bad "stone" may spoil =all= the rest. You remember we said (Story Lesson 77) that Selfishness could spoil a character. And there is another fault--I think we ought to call it a sin--that spoils the character of many an up-grown person. I mean the sin of Intemperance. You know what that is, do you not? When we say that people are intemperate, we generally mean that they take too much beer or wine, and I have known most beautiful characters spoilt by that bad "stone".

When a man has lovely "stones" like Kindness, Unselfishness and Truth in his Temple, is it not a pity that these should be all eaten away by the dreadful sin of Intemperance? Even truth, the foundation, decays, and often the lovely temple of character tumbles all to ruins.

What should you think is the best thing for children to do? Is it not this? Never =take= any of these things that =cause= Intemperance, and then you will never be fond of them, and they will never get the mastery of you and spoil your character.

(Blackboard.)

It is Better not to Take Things that Cause Intemperance.

2.--MANNERS.

XLV. PRELIMINARY.

(To be read first.)

94. The Watch and its Springs.

You have heard the ticking of your father's watch, and have seen the hands on its face, but did you ever get a peep inside at the wonderful tiny wheels and springs? These are called the =works=, and if =they= are not right and true the hands and the face are of no use at all, because it is only when the =wheels= and =springs= work properly that the hands can tell the time correctly.

It is just the same with us. If the =character= is true and good, it will not be difficult to be polite and nice in manner, for manners are the =outside= part of us (just as the hands and face are the outside parts of the watch). The kind, good thoughts =within=--in our hearts--will teach us how to behave.

There is nothing that makes people so rude as thinking of self and forgetting the comfort of others; some call it "Thoughtlessness," but we fear the true name is "Selfishness". If we are =un=selfish and thoughtful for others, we shall not be likely to do anything that =hurts= people, and so we shall not be likely to be rude.

In the Story Lessons on "Manners" which follow, just see if you can find out what it is that causes each rude action. You will probably say that it is "=want of thought=" for others.

(The writer would ask the teacher, or mother, who reads the following Story Lessons to the little ones to emphasise this fact in each--that =thought for others= induces nice manners, while "Thoughtlessness" and "Selfishness" invariably lead to rudeness. Spoilt children, and those whose mothers are in the habit of doing everything for them, =miss= the training in "Thoughtfulness for others" which is so essential to the building up of an unselfish character; and so the mother's intended kindness is in reality =not= kindness, seeing that it causes distinct loss to the child, _viz._, =loss= of those traits of character which are the most desirable, and which tend to the greatest happiness.)

XLVI. ON SAYING "PLEASE" AND "THANK YOU".[18]

95. Fairy Tale of Alec and his Toys.

Alec was a merry little fellow, full of life and fun, and a great favourite with his aunties and uncles, who often gave him nice presents.

The strange thing about Alec was that he always forgot to say "Thank you". No matter how beautiful the present, he would just take it and play with it, and return no thanks to the kind giver, until his mother reminded him how rude it was not to say "Thank you". Alec was not like little Vernon (Story Lesson 44), who was brimming over with thanks.

One night as Alec's mother was putting him to bed, she said: "Alec, I have been reading some verses about a little girl who would not say 'Please'. She would cry 'Pass me the butter,' 'Give me some cheese'. So the fairies, 'this very rude maiden to tease,' carried her down into the woods, among the butterflies and birds and bees, until she should have learnt better manners."

Alec listened with wide-open eyes fixed on his mother's face, but when she said, "I wonder what the fairies would do with a little boy who always forgets to say 'Thank you,'" his eyes dropped, and he was very quiet while his mother was tucking him in his little cot.

When she had gone Alec thought to himself, "Suppose the fairies should come and take all my toys away," then he fell asleep, and this is what happened.

The fairies =did= come, and Alec saw them. Such funny little fellows they were, dressed in red, with funny little wings stuck out behind, and the funniest of little peaked caps on their heads.