yet, we can find a home for our little ones in the miserable homes of
the poor; and, notwithstanding all this talk of hygiene, health, and
sanitation, I believe that some of the homes and factories will always
furnish us with hiding places in which to rear our families."
"Well, I must say good-bye, Mrs. Germ, as I see Dr. Fresh Air coming,
and I do not care to speak to him; he does not treat me cordially.
Good-bye."
QUESTIONS
1. Who was Pasteur? Where did he live? What did he
do for the merchants of France?
2. Who was Jenner? What disease did he show the
people how to prevent?
3. Why did Jimmy Brown grow well and strong?
ONE LITTLE GIRL
One little girl
Said, "Oh, dear, dear,
I want to go to school,
I will be late, I fear.
"I am sure I won't forget
To brush my teeth to-night,
Just to put off a while,
I know will be all right."
One little germ
Said, "Here is work to do;"
Other little germs
Said, "We are coming, too."
A million little germs
Got to work right then,
Made a little hole,
And soon made ten.
One little girl,
In very great pain,
Said, "I never will forget
To brush my teeth again."
CLOVIS, THE BOY KING
Long, long ago, on the banks of the Rhine, there lived a brave and war
like tribe called Franks. Their name means "Freemen." I always think
Frank is a very nice name for a boy or girl to have. It is so grand to
be really and truly free.
These Franks had for their leader a king, and, at the time I am going to
tell about, their king was a boy. His name was Clovis and he was only
sixteen years old. You would hardly think that a boy could rule those
fierce warriors, but he was such a brave and fearless boy, and had such
a good sensible head that they were glad to follow him. He was never
afraid of anything, even when he was a little fellow, and he could tame
and ride the wildest horse as well as the best man among them.
One day a great idea came into the heads of the Frankish warriors. They
thought they would leave their old homes on the banks of the Rhine and
go and settle in a new country called Gaul. It would have been easy
enough, perhaps, if there had been nobody there but the natives and the
wild beasts, but that was not the case.
The Romans were there. I am sure you have heard of the Romans and how
very strong and warlike they were. Their soldiers conquered the world
and were very seldom beaten. They had an army in this country of Gaul.
Clovis was not afraid of the Romans, however, and he marched against
them. The two armies stood facing each other and the two leaders came
out to speak together in an open space between the camps.
The Roman general was very big and grand, and he had Roman soldiers on
each side of him in splendid uniform. Clovis was accompanied by some of
his brave followers. When the Roman leader saw Clovis, he burst out
laughing and cried, "Why, he's a boy! A _boy_ has come to fight against
the Romans!" He thought it was so funny that a boy of sixteen should
dare to fight against him that he couldn't do anything but laugh. Clovis
did not like this at all, and he shouted back, "Yes, but the boy will
conquer you!"
[Illustration: "YES, BUT THE BOY WILL CONQUER YOU!"]
Then came the battle, and the Roman general found it wasn't so funny
after all. For the boy did conquer him and he ran away. Afterwards the
Franks gained the country for themselves and called it their own name,
France.
I believe in boys. I think they can do almost anything. I believe in
girls, too, just as much. The girls did not fight in this battle I have
been telling you about, but there is another and better kind of battle
in which boys and girls fight side by side.
The old kind of battle in which men were killed, and little children
lost their fathers, was very bad and very sad, at the best. In the new
kind of battle people don't kill each other, and yet they fight very
hard against their enemies and have to be very brave.
Let me tell you about a few of these battles. One that is going on now
is the battle against Disease. Very likely you have heard the grown
folks talk about consumption, and saying that it is one of the worst
enemies of our American people, and kills thousands and thousands every
year. Men and women and boys and girls are joining together to fight
against consumption and make an end to it, and a big fight it is. Then,
again, in the struggle with yellow fever some of our noble American
heroes willingly laid down their lives.
Another great battle is against Dirt. Dirt causes people to get sick and
die, and since we have known this we have been fighting hard against it.
The boys and girls have helped a great deal in this battle.
One of the finest fights to be in is the battle against Tobacco. What do
you think? Could the boys and girls defeat the use of tobacco and drive
it out of the country if they tried hard enough? I really believe they
could.
But, perhaps, you have not all made up your minds that it would be a
good thing to fight tobacco. Let us think of some of the reasons why we
should fight it.
REASON NUMBER ONE is because the tobacco habit is a dirty habit. Are the
lips of the smoking boy nice and clean for mother to kiss? What about
his hands? Isn't he ashamed of that yellow stain that won't come off?
How much cleaner the streets, and cars, and railway stations would be if
nobody used tobacco!
REASON NUMBER TWO is because tobacco injures a boy's body. It hurts his
heart, causing it to beat too fast for a while and afterwards making it
weak and tired. It hurts his lungs, for when he draws the smoke in he
carries the poisonous nicotine to the tender and delicate air-cells. We
must talk more about that at another time. It hurts his stomach and
gives him indigestion, and no one knows how bad that is until he has had
it for himself.
REASON NUMBER THREE is because tobacco harms a boy's mind. Boys who
don't smoke make better grades than those who do. Some college boys
found this out for themselves a while ago. Don't you forget it.
REASON NUMBER FOUR is because it is a dangerous habit. The insurance
men, whose business it is to find out what causes the fires, say that
cigarette smokers are often to blame, because they throw the cigarettes
down with fire on them.
If you spend nickels on cigarettes, a dollar is soon gone. You don't
exactly burn the dollar bill, but you spend the bill and buy cigarettes,
and burn them. Isn't that just the same as burning the bill, after all?
If a boy spends a nickel a day on cigarettes, how much will he lose in a
week? Thirty cents in six week-days. In four weeks, what will he have
spent? A dollar and twenty cents. A month is a little over four weeks,
so we will add an extra nickel to find what he spends a month. A dollar
and a quarter. How much will this come to in twelve months? Is that too
hard for you, I wonder? Fifteen dollars. Dear me, how quickly money runs
away! Surely no one ought to smoke cigarettes unless he has more money
than he knows what to do with.
REASON NUMBER FIVE is because smoking is an enslaving habit. By that I
mean it makes boys into slaves.
So here are five reasons why we should fight against it. Let us see how
many of them you can remember.
I hope that all you boys and girls will be as brave as Clovis, and now
that you see how much harm tobacco and alcohol are doing to your people,
you will get ready for the fight and will say, "Yes, you are strong and
terrible foes, but boys and girls will conquer you."
QUESTIONS
1. Who were the people that were called Franks?
What does the name mean?
2. Who was Clovis? What kind of a boy king was he?
3. What country did the boy king with his Franks
want to conquer?
4. Who won the battle?
5. What kind of a battle can both girls and boys
fight?
6. Name some of these battles. (Disease, Dirt,
Tobacco, and Alcohol.)
7. What are the five reasons why all boys and
girls should fight the battle against Tobacco?
WHAT TEMPERANCE BRINGS
More of good than we can tell;
More to buy with, more to sell;
More of comfort, less of care;
More to eat and more to wear;
Happier homes and faces brighter;
All our burdens rendered lighter;
Conscience clean and minds much stronger;
Debts much shorter, purses longer;
Hopes that drive away all sorrow;
And something laid up for to-morrow.
[Illustration]
THE WHITE SHIP
We are going to have a story to-day about something that happened nearly
eight hundred years ago.
In that far-away time there lived a King of England whose name was Henry
I. He was a great warrior, and his enemies generally had the worst of it
in battle. But he was still greater as a ruler, and he made the people
of England keep the laws. When they disobeyed, he punished them
severely.
A certain scholar wrote down the story of his reign and we have it
still. He said Henry "was a good man and great was the awe of him."
That is, the people rather feared him because he was so strict. He said,
too, that while Henry was king no one dared "ill-do to man or beast."
King Henry was sometimes called the Lion of Justice, because he was so
great and powerful, and all wrong-doers were afraid of him.
He had another nickname, too. They called him Fine Scholar because he
could read and write. Very few persons in those old days could do these
things. The clergy were almost the only ones who went to school and
learned how.
We who live now-a-days should be very glad and thankful that we have
good schools and kind teachers, and lesson books that are full of
interesting things.
King Henry had one son whom he loved very much, indeed. His name was
William. He was a fine boy, and the people of England were very fond of
him. They expected that some day, when his father died, William would be
King in his turn. Indeed, they had already promised Henry that whenever
that happened, they would be faithful and true to his son.
Not very far from England is the country called France. A narrow sea
separates the two. The English call it the Channel and the French call
it the Sleeve--perhaps because it is something like a sleeve in shape.
Henry was very often over in France because he had some possessions
there. His father had come from France and conquered England, so he had
land on both sides of this narrow sea. Though it is narrow, it is very
rough, and sailors have to be very careful in crossing it.
One time Henry and his son had been over in France doing some fighting.
They overcame their enemies and made ready to set sail for England. They
were about to start when a captain came up to the King and begged him to
sail in his ship. He was very anxious to have the honor of carrying him
across the Channel. He had carried over the King's father, William the
Conqueror, when he went to invade England. He said that he had a
beautiful new boat called the White Ship. There were fifty strong men to
do the rowing, and they had sails besides. Of course, there were no
steam-boats in those old times.
Now King Henry had already made his arrangements, and he did not like to
change them. But, to please the captain, he said he would send his
treasure in his new ship--the precious things he had taken in war and
was carrying home to England. More than that, he said he would let the
captain take charge of the greatest treasure he had in the world, his
only son, who was then seventeen years old. So William sailed with
Captain Fitz-Stephen.
The King was in a hurry to get home, and he started as soon as the tide
would let him.
In the White Ship with Prince William a great many knights and nobles
sailed. Some of his own relatives were there, and many boys and girls
belonging to the chief families of England. They wanted to have a good
time, so they had a grand feast on board ship before they started on the
voyage. They shouted and danced on the deck, and, I am sorry to say,
they drank a great deal of wine. They did one thing that was specially
foolish. They made the sailors drink, too. They opened three barrels of
the wine and divided it among them. They ought to have known that the
sailors would need steady hands to take the ship across that dangerous
sea. But they did not think. It grew later and later, and darker and
darker, and there was no moon that night. Some people began to be afraid
to trust themselves in that ship, and they got off and waited till
morning for another one. Most of them, however, were feeling too merry
and jolly to be afraid of anything, and away they sailed. The rowers
pulled with all their might and the helmsman steered for England.
A man who has been using strong drink, though, is not fit to steer a
ship or anything else. It has been found out that after even a very
little wine or beer one cannot guide so well, or do anything else
properly that needs a clear brain and steady nerves.
Alcohol makes people stupid. We all know that if they drink a good deal
of it, it takes their senses altogether away, so that they don't know
anything and can't do anything. So, if they drink a little of it, it
takes their senses partly away and they are not so bright as they should
be. They do not see danger when it comes and then accidents happen.
The helmsman of the White Ship was made stupid by the wine and he was
not able to do his work. They had not gone very far before he steered
the ship on a rock. There was a terrible crash and a terrible cry, and
the water began to rush in through the hole which had been made.
Quickly a boat was lowered and Prince William was hurried into it, and
the rowers rowed away with him. But he heard a voice calling for help
and knew it was his sister's, so he made the sailors turn back to save
her. When they did so, ever so many people jumped in and the little boat
could not hold them. They all went to the bottom.
No one escaped from that dreadful shipwreck except one man who held on
to the top of the mast till help came next day. When, at last, he
reached land he told how the young prince and his sister had been
drowned, and also a hundred and forty noble youths and girls, and the
Captain and the fifty rowers, and everyone else on board except
himself--all because of wine.
What a dangerous drink this alcohol is, and how many accidents it has
caused! It sends the brain to sleep so that it cannot do its work, and
when that is the case we never know what dreadful thing may happen next.
When anything puts the brain to sleep, we call it narcotic. Alcohol is a
narcotic poison. No one should ever use it who wants to pilot a ship, or
steer an automobile, or drive a train, or shoot a gun, or run a machine
in a factory.
King Henry was a busy man, and he went home as quickly as he could and
attended to his work. He was very much surprised that William and the
others did not come, and he kept wondering where they could be.
When the sad news reached the palace, no man dared go in and tell the
King. At last, they sent a little boy into his room--a page who waited
on the ladies and gentlemen--and he fell at the King's feet.
"O, King ... Prince William ... the White Ship!"
When poor King Henry understood what had happened, he fell down in a
faint. They say that all the rest of his life he was very sad. No one
ever saw him smile again. One thing we must never forget about strong
drink is this: It does not only bring trouble to the people who use it,
but to many others besides. King Henry had nothing to do with the
drinking on board the White Ship. He was not even there, and did not
know about it. But it caused him to lose his boy and girl, both in one
night.
In our days, too, it makes more trouble than any one can possibly
imagine. Although the wreck of the White Ship happened nearly eight
hundred years ago, it was not by any means the first accident brought on
by alcohol. Drink has always done these things. It has always made men's
heads dull and their hands unsteady. It has caused them to be hurt and
to lose their lives. The strange thing is that, although every one knows
it does this, so many people venture to use it. We should all do well to
remember the proverb, "Where there's drink there's danger."
"Write it o'er the railroad wreck,
Write it on the sinking deck,
Write upon our hearts the truth,
Let us learn it in our youth--
Where there's drink there's danger."
A QUEER CASE
Agnes, you and John may look at this watch. Don't you think its covering
is very pretty? The covering of the watch is called its case. Now we
will open it, and you may look inside and see what this pretty case
covers. Look at all these little wheels. How small they are! Do you
think they would stay in place long, or run and keep time, if we bruised
them or took off the case? Then you see the case is not only pretty, but
useful. It keeps the little wheels from getting broken or dirty. It
protects them from harm.
Look at the covering or case of your body. It covers and protects you
just as the case does the works in the watch. Well, let me tell you a
story about it. The covering of your body covers a number of organs
which are even more wonderful than the little wheels in the watch.
This covering of your body is full of little holes. These holes are too
small to be seen with our naked eyes. Through these holes air and
sunshine get into your body, and through these tiny holes little drops
of water come out. This is sweat, and it helps to keep our bodies cool.
When you run and play, these little drops of water keep you from
getting too warm. They also help to keep your body clean by bringing out
the little bits of dirt.
[Illustration: IS THIS YOU?]
I wonder if we are like a little pig, who, when his mother asked him
what kind of a house he wanted, said, "mud house?" If so, we will have
the little holes all closed up. Then we won't have a nice, soft, pink
skin that will let the little drops of water through, but we will have a
dirty, muddy-looking skin. When we run and play we get so warm that it
will make us sick. But if we take nice warm baths twice a week at night,
and a cool sponge bath every morning, with good clear water and soap, we
will be like the watch, and have a beautiful covering, and this will
help to keep our wonderful organs and body well and strong. We must
bathe our hands often, and keep the covering on them nice and clean.
Sometimes germs get on our hands, and, if we do not wash them often, we
may carry them to our mouths. Sometimes this is the way we "catch" a
disease, because we do not keep the covering, or case, on our hands
clean.
[Illustration: WATCH THE BIRDS]
Did you ever watch the little birds as they fly down to a gutter, or
little stream of water, how they dip their bills into the water? Do they
just fly down into the water only to get a drink? No, indeed. They fill
their bills with water and pour it all over their feathers. They get
into the water, and such a splashing they have! All birds and animals
wash themselves clean and nice when they can get to water. Old Rover has
a good time swimming and bathing in the creek. This is the way they keep
their skins nice and clean, and their hair and feathers slick and
shining.
"Drink less, breathe more;
Eat less, chew more;
Ride less, walk more;
Worry less, work more;
Preach less, practice more."
--_Selected._
THE LITTLE GIRL AND THE BUTTERFLY
Virginia is a little girl who lives in Not Far-Away Land. Her mother is
a wise woman, and she wants her little girl to grow up into a strong and
beautiful young woman.
[Illustration: THE LITTLE GIRL AND THE BUTTERFLY]
Some days Virginia pouts and is cross. She does not go out to play. She
cries for things her mother does not want her to have. She will not
take a nap in her snug little bed. She cries for candy, and will not eat
her bread and butter.
One day Virginia was sitting on the door-step, pouting; she had
forgotten to be good that day. Presently, a beautiful butterfly
fluttered down near her.
Virginia forgot all her naughty thoughts and said, "Tell me, pretty
Butterfly, where did you come from and what made you so beautiful?"
The Butterfly turned its pretty head and looked at Virginia a moment.
Then it said, "Little girl, I'll tell you a secret if you will forget
your pouts and listen."
Virginia promised.
"I was an egg once; for you know, little girl, every living thing comes
from an egg. This egg hatched, and a little green worm crawled out. This
little green worm was I, and I did not know then that some day I would
be a beautiful butterfly.
"I was a good little worm, and did all the things Mother Nature told me
to do. I ate the things that were good for me. I liked nice, juicy
leaves--and Mother Nature told me they would make me grow big and
strong. Little babies and little calves have nice warm milk to make them
grow, and little worms eat nice, tender, green leaves. I chewed them up
fine, so that my very little stomach could digest them. Do you like your
bread and butter?
"I do not cry for things Mother Nature tells me are not good for me.
Every day I take plenty of cool, fresh water to drink from the drops I
find on the leaves. Little worms, as well as little girls, need cool,
pure water.
"You should see my bath-tub; it is a rose leaf filled with dewdrops. Oh,
how clean and sweet I am after my daily bath! I am fresh and fit for my
travels over the green bushes and pretty rose vines.
"Once I climbed to the top of a high maple tree, and rested on a leaf,
while I watched the folks below passing.
"After I had eaten, and bathed, and played as long as Mother Nature
wanted me to, I curled up in a tiny cradle and went fast asleep.
"My nap lasted a long time--all winter. All babies need sleep, you know;
it makes them grow healthy and strong. Mother Nature was wise; she hung
my cradle to the branch of a tree, where it would be in the pure fresh
air while I was sleeping. The winds sang sweet lullabys to me. Some fine
days Jack Frost would go whistling by. Sometimes an icicle would swing
on the same branch with me. When the warm sun came out from behind the
clouds, down would go the little icicle to the ground, shattered and
sparkling like a thousand diamonds. All this time I was tucked away in
my warm, brown cradle, waiting for the gentle spring breezes to wake me.
"One day I woke from my long nap to find that I was a beautiful
creature. Mother Nature had dressed me in wonderful colors. My wings
were gaudy. She had given me graceful legs on which to walk, and a
pretty head and body. I could fly from flower to flower. I did not eat
leaves any more, but I drank nectar from the flower cups.
"I love the sunshine, the clear water, the green grass, the bright
flowers, and I love to hear the birds sing in the trees. I love to see
the bees, as they rove from flower to flower to gather honey. Life
seems one long, sweet song as I flit here and there.
"Little girl, if you will listen to your mother as I listened when
Mother Nature told me how to grow strong and beautiful, you will grow to
be a strong, healthy girl, with rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes. To be
strong and healthy is to be beautiful."
QUESTIONS
1. Why was Virginia cross? How did she behave?
2. What fluttered down by her? What story did the
butterfly tell Virginia?
3. What kind of food did Mother Nature prepare for
the little baby that one day was to be a
butterfly? Was this different from the food it
needed when it grew into a butterfly?
4. What food is good for the little babies in the
home and the little baby calves?
5. When did baby butterfly sleep? Is fresh air
good for the baby in your home? Was it good for
Virginia?
6. What was the baby butterfly's cradle made of?
[Illustration]
LITTLE BAREFOOT
"Look out, little Barefoot, the hookworm will catch you if you don't
watch."
This is what Will seemed to hear a wee small voice say one day as he
stepped briskly along the dewy path. Will was driving the cows to the
cool, green pasture down in the meadow.
Will always drove old Brindle and Bess to the pasture every morning
before he went to school. Brindle and Bess loved the juicy grass in the
meadow pasture. They loved to drink the cool brook water. They would
stand knee-deep in it on hot days. Soft pictures of the cows, and the
tall trees, and the clouds could be seen in its water.
When the sun was high in the sky, at noon-time, old Brindle and Bess
would lie down under the trees near the brook, and chew and think, and
chew and think.
One afternoon Will came home from school limping, and tired, and hot.
His feet hurt him, so he begged his mother not to send him for the cows,
but to let some one else bring Brindle and Bess home at milking time.
Will's mother knew that something was surely wrong, for Will liked
nothing better than to call faithful Rover and romp away to the pasture.
His mother looked at his feet and found them blistered and very sore.
"We will call the doctor," she said.
Uncle John looked wise when he came to see the little fellow.