Story Lessons on Character-Building (Morals) and Manners Part 25

3. When pudding comes, the =point= of spoon Within the mouth may go, But soup or broth is taken from The =side= of it you know.

4. Without a noise I eat and drink, I must not spill my food, Nor scald my mouth, nor make complaint, "This is not nice, not good".

130.

Key E.

{|m :-- |m :m |f :f |f :-- } 1. Small bites of bread we take,

{|r :-- |r :r |m :s |s :-- } And chew it well be - fore

{|l :-- |d :l |s :m |m :-- } We drink our tea or milk;

{|m :-- |r :l |s :s |s :-- } We must not ask for more

{|f :-- |r :l |s :m |s :-- } Un - til we've finished quite,

{|m :-- |r :m |d :d |d :-- } For that would not be right.

2. If handkerchiefs we use, Or sneeze or cough, we try, When seated at our food, To do it quietly; And don't forget, I pray, To turn your head away.

3. When we have finished, then The knife and fork should lie Together on our plate, And hands rest quietly Within the lap,[22] this wise, Until mamma shall rise.

(Explain that children should not leave table until mother has done so, unless she gives them permission.)

FOOTNOTE:

[22] Fold hands in lap.

LXXIV. FINALE.

131. How another Queen Builded.

A great many years ago, a little girl played in a garden in London. Her father was dead, but she had a dear, good mother, who taught her to build for herself a good and beautiful character, for the mother knew that this would be a better thing for the little girl to have than gold or diamonds, because as the Fairy Queen told us, it =lasts for ever=.

As time went on the little girl grew up, and became a great queen. She has been a queen now for more than sixty years, and I do not think there ever was so good a queen, and we are sure there never was one so dearly loved. The queen has a beautiful gold crown, and beautiful castles and palaces to live in, but these are not the things she values most. Best of all, she has all those lovely jewels in her character that we have been speaking about, with "Truth" for the foundation, and it is all woven round with the pure gold of "Kindness"; these are the jewels that are more precious to the great queen than crowns and costly stones.

Do you know the name of this queen? It is our own Queen Victoria.

Why do we love her so much? Not because she is a queen, simply, for queens have sometimes been wicked, but because she is good, and true, and kind, and these jewels make up the something that we call "character," which when built like this is more beautiful than the Fairies' Temple.

And just think of it: =every= little boy and girl may build up a good, true character, which is the most precious thing you can have.

The Story Lessons in this book have been written to help each one of =you= who hear them to build up this beautiful Temple of Character.

The queen believes that a =good= "character" is the best thing in the world, and I want you all to think so too.

A man who was put in prison for preaching wrote a beautiful book,[23]

which you will read when you are older, and in it there is this story.

The story tells of a man who spent all his time raking up rubbish on the floor to find gold and other things, and =never once looked up=. But all the time there was an angel standing behind him with a beautiful crown in her hand, which she wanted the man to have, but he never saw it.

That is like the people who think of nothing but =self=, instead of "looking up" and thinking of the beautiful "stones" that build up the "Temple," which is such a good thing to have, just as the crown was, which the man did not see. Let us look up and see all that is beautiful and good, so that we may become like G.o.d who made all these things.

FOOTNOTE:

[23] _Pilgrim's Progress._