[Sidenote: Teasing Rhymes]
“Hey Diddle Diddle!
Parts his hair in the middle!”
This was the couplet that greeted John Fraser as he entered his eighth
grade room one September noon. Above the couplet was a portrait of
himself, the style of his hair indicated very clearly. He erased the
decorations hastily, but said nothing about it. He was very young,
however, and the thoughtless disrespect shown him hurt sadly.
A day or two passed, during which he noticed the covert amusement at his
faultlessly pressed clothes, his punctilious manners, his careful
grooming, all new and strange to the crude little town in the Southwest
in which he taught. Then, one noon, he entered the room from the
playground to find a rough cartoon on the board, labeled, “Mr. Fraser
pressing his pants to make creases at 2 a.m.” The pupils were vastly
entertained by it.
“Who made this picture?” John demanded, very angry and feeling that his
dignity demanded that the offender be punished. Every head turned
instantly toward Cleaver Trotter, who seemed much pleased to be singled
out for attention.
“Cleaver, you may remain in at recess. I want to see you.”
“Just as you say, Mr. Fraser!” sang out Cleaver, jauntily. There was a
half-suppressed titter of admiration, and Mr. Fraser felt that he had
come out second best.
At recess he ascertained that Cleaver had really drawn the picture, and
forbade him sternly to repeat the offense. The interview took place in
the otherwise empty school-room, and when Cleaver was allowed to go he
joined a group of gaping admirers on the playground.
“What did he do to you?” they demanded to a man.
“Oh, he asked me why I did it, and I told him I couldn’t help it; I just
knew it took him all night to press his pants that way.”
“And what did he say then?”
“Well, he smelled of the smelling-salts and said that’d be all for
today, so I came on out.”
None of this account was true, but Cleaver won by it the thing his
boyish vanity wanted, the admiration of his crowd. They approved the
ridicule because it furnished them with fun, and Cleaver was shrewd
enough to know that his leadership depended upon their approbation of
his attitude. He annoyed John Fraser constantly throughout the school
year, not because he disliked him or wanted to be troublesome, but
because the teacher could not perceive that Cleaver had a mania for
approbation which needed to be guided into better channels.