juice every morning.

Another one gathered some violets and crushed the flowers in her hands until they smelled like perfume.

“See what beautiful hands I have! They smell like violets in the deep woods in the spring time,” said she, and she held up her hands for the others to admire. They were very soft and white, for she had never done anything but wash them in violets every morning.

The fourth girl did not show her hands but held them in her lap. An old woman came down the road and stopped before the girls. They all showed her their hands and asked her which were the most beautiful. She shook her head at each one and then asked to see the hands of the last girl who held hers in her lap. The last girl raised her hands timidly for the old woman to see.

“Oh, these hands are clean, indeed,” said the old woman, “but they are hard with toil, helping her mother clean the house and nurse the baby, and mend the clothes. They have carried food to the poor and have nursed the sick babies in the neighborhood.”

Then the old woman fumbled in her pocket and brought out a ring set with diamonds, with rubies redder than strawberries, and turquoise bluer than violets.

“Here, wear this ring, my child; you deserve the prize for the most beautiful hands, for they have been the most helpful.”

And the old woman vanished, leaving the four girls still sitting by the brook.

THE DISCONTENTED MEMBERS

All the parts must work together for the good of the whole. In union there is strength and safety.

Once upon a time all the parts of the body began to complain of how little the stomach did, and of what each one did to support that lazy member.

“Just look at that stupid old stomach,” said the mouth. “It won’t say a word; never sings a song. Won’t even say ‘thank you,’ for what I let go by me on the way down to fill it up. I am getting tired of opening and shutting and swallowing and never a word of thanks.”

“You are perfectly right,” said the hands. “Here we are working hard all day, digging and pulling and pushing and doing our best to make a little money. Our palms are hard and knotty, and sometimes our fingers are sore and cold. Then to make it worse, when we come home we have to lift food to go into that good-for-nothing stomach, and never a word do we get for it.”

The head nodded violently: “Yes, indeed!” it said. “I have to lie awake at night thinking of ways to make food. I sometimes am positively worn out worrying about where I am going to find provisions enough to satisfy that stomach. I should think it would make some suggestions of its own, but not a sound do I ever hear.”

Then the legs began to beat on the floor in order to be heard.

“You have no idea how bad we feel,” said they. “We have to go about all day carrying that old stomach from one place to another. We have to stand up and sit down, and the loads that are put on us are absolutely frightful. Sometimes we are so tired out that we positively tremble with weakness. And as for getting any consideration—not a bit of it!”

All the other members joined it. The eyes said they kept a sharp look out; the ears said they listened for every sound, and even the ribs said they stood guard to catch any blow that might fall on the stomach.

The members all agreed not to help the stomach any more. The head would not think; the hand would not work; the mouth would not swallow, and so no more food went into the stomach.

But see what happened! The legs grew too weak to walk; the hands were too feeble to move; the head was dizzy from lack of strength, and all the body shrunk until it looked like a shadow.

Then the stomach spoke up at last and said:

“You foolish members! Do you not know that in feeding me you are feeding yourselves? You put food into me but I send it back to you in blood and strength so that you can all work. Unless you feed me I cannot help you.”

The head nodded wisely and said: “The stomach is right. Come, let us all go to work again, so that the good old stomach may give us back our strength.”

THE BLIND MAN AND THE ELEPHANT

(Adapted from a poem by John G. Saxe)

We should not be sure of our opinions until we have seen all sides of the question.

There were six men of Hindoostan who were blind, but each man thought he could see as well with his hands as any one else could with his eyes. Whenever they touched anything they thought they knew all about it, though they had felt only a small part.

Now, these six blind men had never seen an elephant. They did not know what an elephant was like because nobody could describe an elephant so that they could know what it was like. Besides that, these blind men never believed what anybody told them.

One day an elephant came to their town and they decided to pay him a visit. The first blind man approached the elephant and stumbled against his big broad side. He felt along the rough hide up and down and as far as he could reach.

“Why, bless me! the elephant is just like a wall or the side of my house. I had no idea an elephant was like that!” said the first blind man.

Then the second blind man approached the elephant and caught hold of his hard tusks with the sharp points. He felt along the smooth tusk as far as he could reach.

“Why, bless me! the elephant is very like a spear. I had no idea an elephant looked like that!” said the second blind man.

Then the third blind man approached the elephant and caught hold of his trunk. The old elephant moved his trunk from side to side, and squirmed, while the third blind man felt of it as far as he could.

“I see the elephant is very like a snake. I had no idea an elephant was like that!” said the third blind man.

The fourth blind man now came up and took hold of the elephant’s leg. He felt how big and solid it was and he felt along the leg as far as he could reach.

“It is very clear to me that an elephant is very like a tree. I had no idea an elephant was like that!” said the fourth blind man.

The fifth blind man came and put his hand on the elephant’s ear. He felt along the big ear as far as he could.

“Well, this elephant is very like a fan. I had no idea an elephant looked like that!” said the fifth blind man.

The sixth blind man came up and caught the elephant by the tail. He pulled and twisted as hard as he could.

“I see, the elephant is very like a rope. I had no idea an elephant was like that!” said the sixth blind man.

And they quarreled all one day and late into the night, and they never did know what the elephant was like.

THE BAD-TEMPERED SQUIRREL

An ill-natured child does not deserve good companionship.

Once there was a family of squirrels that lived in a nice warm hole in a tall tree. This would have been a happy family had it not been for the ill-temper of one of the little squirrels. When they gathered for supper he grabbed the biggest nuts and took more than his share. He pushed the others away and bit and scratched them. At night he took the best place to sleep and crowded the smaller ones to the edge where it was cold.

Mother squirrel tried to correct him, but at last father squirrel said he could stand his quarreling no longer. So one morning he told the little squirrel to follow him.