[Sidenote: A Live Mouse]
A practical joke loses all of its point when nobody is annoyed or made
ridiculous by it. A teacher who tactfully makes himself seem one of a
group who is deriving benefit from an experiment, wins the respect of
his students. Such a teacher was the high school instructor in science,
whose attention was directed to a mischievous pupil, by a girl’s
seemingly nervous fear of this fun-loving boy. Cautious investigation
revealed the fact that a living mouse was in the wide-mouthed bottle
which protruded from the joker’s pocket.
This principal told the boy that it would be instructive fun to let the
mouse loose in the building and see what the timid little thing would
do, but that such a course of action would endanger the future safety of
books, lunches, etc., left in the building. He, therefore, advised that,
at the coming recess, all who did not fear the mouse, form a large
circle in the school yard and that the mouse be let loose in the center
of the circle. And that all observe closely just what the little animal
did.
At recess, the principal himself joined the circle, asking the boys to
notice carefully whether or not the mouse would change his course to
avoid a shouting student.
After the mouse was experimented upon and killed the mischief-maker
began to wonder why it was that he was glad that he had not annoyed the
principal with the mouse, as he had intended to do.