Story Lessons on Character-Building (Morals) and Manners Part 5

One of the soldiers answered that it only belonged to one of the men.

"But I want to know the name of the man," said Sir Ralph. He was then told that the man's name was Duncan Roy, and he said: "Then see that Duncan Roy gets his blanket this very night".

You see how thoughtful he was for the other man's comfort, so thoughtful that he did not wish to keep Duncan's blanket even though he himself was dying. Is it not true that "thoughtfulness" is one of the most beautiful of the precious stones that you build with.

(Blackboard.)

Be Thoughtful.

VIII. HELP ONE ANOTHER.

23. The Cat and the Parrot.[4]

A cat and a parrot lived in the same house, and were very kind and friendly towards each other. One evening there was no one in the kitchen except the bird and the cat. The cook had gone upstairs, leaving a bowl full of dough to rise by the fire. Before long the cat rushed upstairs, mewing and making signs for the cook to come down, then she jumped up and seized her ap.r.o.n, and tried to pull her along. What could be the matter, what had happened? Cook went downstairs to see, and there was poor Polly shrieking, calling out, flapping her wings, and struggling with all her might "up to her knees" in dough, and stuck quite fast. Of course the cook lifted the parrot out, and cleaned the dough from her legs, but if p.u.s.s.y had not been her kind friend, and run for help, she would have sunk farther and farther into the dough, and perhaps in the end would have been smothered.

(Blackboard.)

If a Cat can Help a Bird, surely Boys and Girls should Help Each Other.

24. The Two Monkeys.[5]

A ship that was crossing the sea had two monkeys on board; one of them was larger and older than the other, though she was not the mother of the younger one. Now it happened one day that the little monkey fell overboard, and the bigger one was immediately very much excited. She had a cord tied round her waist, with which she had been fastened up, and what do you think she did? She scrambled down the outside of the ship, until she came to a ledge, then she held on to the ship with one hand, and with the other she held out the cord to the poor little monkey that was struggling in the water. Was not she a clever, thoughtful, kind monkey? The cord was just a little too short, so one of the sailors threw out a longer rope, which the little monkey grasped, and by this means she was brought safely on board.

You will remember the story of the monkey, who tried to save her little friend, and remember, also, that

(Blackboard)

Children should Help One Another.

25. The Wounded Bird.

There is a beautiful story about birds helping each other in a book[6]

which you must read for yourselves when you grow older.

One day a man was out with his gun, and shot a sea-bird, called a tern, which fell wounded into the sea, near the water's edge. The man stood and waited until the wind should blow the bird near enough for him to reach it, when, to his surprise, he saw two other terns fly down to the poor wounded bird and take hold of him, one at each wing, lift him out of the water, and carry him seawards. Two other terns followed, and when the first two had carried him a few yards and were tired, they laid him down gently and the next two picked him up, and so they went on carrying him in turns until they reached a rock a good way off, where they laid him down. The sportsman then made his way to the rock, but when they saw him coming, a whole swarm of terns came together, and just before he reached the place, two of them again lifted up the wounded bird and bore him out to sea. The man was near enough to have hindered this if he had wished, but he was so pleased to see the kindness of the birds that he would not take the poor creature from them.

So we have learnt another lesson from the birds, and will write it down.

(Blackboard.)

Birds helped the Wounded Tern; we should Help Each Other.

FOOTNOTES:

[4] Romanes' _Animal Intelligence_.

[5] Romanes' _Animal Intelligence_.

[6] Smiles' _Life of Edward_.

IX. ON BEING BRAVE.

(BRAVE IN DANGER.)

26. How Leonard Saved his Little Brother.

Have you ever known a little girl who cried whenever her face was washed? or a little boy who screamed each time he had a tumble, although he might not be hurt in the least? You would not call =those= brave children, would you? We say that people are brave when they are not afraid to face danger, like the men who go out in the life-boat when the sea is rough to try and save a crew from shipwreck; or the brave firemen who rescue the inmates of a burning house. Perhaps you think it is only grown-up people who can be brave, but that is not so; little children can be brave also, as you will see from this story of a little boy, about whom we read in the papers not long ago, and who lived not far from London. Some children were playing near a pool, when, by some means, one of them, a little boy named Arthur, three years old, fell in.

All the children, except one, ran away. (=They= were not brave, were they?) The one who remained was little Arthur's brother, Leonard. He was only five years old, but he had a brave heart, and he went into the water at once, although he could not see Arthur, who had fallen on his back under the water, and was too frightened to get up. Leonard had seen where he fell, and though he did not know how deep the water was, he walked in, lifted his little brother up, and pulled him out. It was all done much more quickly than I have told you. If Leonard had run away to fetch some one, instead of doing what he could himself, his brother must have been drowned, because he was fast in the mud. I am sure you will say that =Leonard= was a brave little boy, and we should not think that =he= cries when he is washed, or when he has a little tumble. Leonard teaches us to

(Blackboard)

Be Brave in Danger.

(BRAVE IN LITTLE THINGS.)

27. The Twins.

What a fuss some children make when they are hurt ever so little, and if a finger should bleed how dreadfully frightened they are!

A lady told me this story of two little twin boys whom she knew. Their names were Bennie and Joey, and they were just two years old.

One day as they were playing together Bennie cut his finger, and the blood came out in little drops. Now, the twins had never seen blood before, and you will think, maybe, that Bennie began to cry; but he did not. He looked at his finger and said: "Oh! Joey, look! what is this?"

"Don't know," said Joey, shaking his head. Then they both watched the bleeding finger for a little, and at last Bennie said: "I know, Joey; it is =gravy=". He had seen the gravy in the meat, and he thought this was something like it. Anyhow, it was better than crying and making a fuss, do you not think?

(Blackboard.)

Be Brave in Little Things.

(BRAVE IN SUFFERING.)

28. The Broken Arm.

It was recreation time, and the boys were pretending to play football, when a boy of six, named Robin, had an awkward fall and broke his arm.

The teacher bound it up as well as she could, and Robin did not cry, though the poor arm must have pained him. He walked quietly through the streets with the teacher, who took him to the doctor to have the broken bone set, and when the doctor pulled his arm straight out to get the bones in place before he bound it up, Robin gave one little cry; that was all. He is now a grown-up man, but the teacher still remembers how brave he was when his arm was broken, and feels proud of her pupil.

(Blackboard)

Be Brave in Suffering.