Story Lessons on Character-Building (Morals) and Manners Part 14

how I should like to ride him!"

"The horse is of no use for riding yet, Edgar," said his mother.

"Why?" asked Edgar.

"Because he has not yet learnt to obey a rider," replied she; "the horse has to wear bit and bridle before he can be of use, and to learn by them to be controlled. A horse that could not be managed would run away with you, just as poor Henry's temper ran away with him (Story Lesson 72)."

Bad tempers and bad habits are like wild horses: they take us where they will, and get us into sad trouble if we do not bridle them, so we must take care =not= to let the temper be master, but bridle it just as the horse-trainer bridles the horse.

"I should think the horse does not like the bit and bridle at first,"

said Edgar.

"Very likely not," replied his mother; "but he would not be the useful, patient animal that he is if he did not submit."

(Blackboard.)

Horse has to be Held in by Bit and Bridle.

We Must Bridle Temper and Bad Habit.

x.x.xI. SELFISHNESS.

74. The Child on the Coach.

It was summer, and we were riding on the top of the coach through one of the loveliest parts of Scotland. The coach had five seats with four persons on each, so you may easily find out how many people there were.

On the next seat to ours sat a lady with a little spoilt boy, about four years of age, who was very hard to please, and very discontented and unhappy. You will not be much surprised to hear that presently he began to cry, for spoilt children often do that, but I do not think you could ever guess the =reason=. His mother was speaking to a lady on the seat behind, and when the child was asked, "What is the matter?" he said, "Mamma is not attending to me when I speak to her," and =that= was why he cried. He wanted his mother to attend to =him=, to speak to him all the time, and that was selfish. He was only a very little child, but he thought too much of that ugly word--=self=, and that was why he was so discontented and unhappy.

I knew another little child who was always wanting some one to play with her; she never tried to amuse herself, but was continually teasing her mother to join in her games. It is better to be like little Elsie (Story Lesson 21) who when only a year old thought of the comfort of others.

75. Edna and the Cherries.

One day a lady called at a cottage where there lived a little girl, named Edna, who was playing on the hearth-rug with another little girl, Lizzie. The lady had come to see Edna's grandmamma, but she had not forgotten that Edna lived there, and she brought out of her basket a little paper bag full of ripe cherries, and gave them to the child. Edna did not forget to say "thank you," then she took the little bag, put it on a chair, and peeped inside; she was only two years old, and could not have reached the table. As soon as she saw the pretty, red cherries, she toddled to her little friend, and holding out the bag, said, "Lizzie some". When Lizzie had taken a handful, she went to her grandmother, and said, "Grandmamma some," and then with a shy, little glance at the lady, she placed the bag in her lap, and said, "Lady some".

Last of all she helped her dear little self, and so we say that Edna was =un=selfish, that means =not= selfish. Baby Edna did not know about the Temple we all have to make, but she was building it just the same.

Perhaps "Selfless" and "Thoughtful" were helping her to find the stones!

(Blackboard.)

Think First of Others, Last of Self.

76. The Boy who liked always to Win.

We all like to win when we play games, and that is quite right, but Johnny liked =so much= to win that he was cross and unhappy if any one else was winning, and did not enjoy the game at all; I am afraid that he even cheated sometimes to win. Now all that was downright selfish; it reminds one of a story--a sort of fairy-tale--about Minerva and Arachne.

Arachne said to Minerva, "Let us see who can spin the best". So they began to spin, and when Minerva saw that Arachne was beating her at the spinning, she struck her on the head with a spindle, and turned poor Arachne into a spider. It is a pity when people are so anxious to win that it makes them selfish.

Selfishness is an ugly stone to have in your Temple, dear children. Just as Thoughtfulness is one of the most beautiful stones, so Selfishness is one of the ugliest. Try not to let it come into your lives at all. No one likes a selfish child, but everybody loves the child who =forgets= self and thinks of others.

(Blackboard.)

Try to be Glad when Others Win, as well as when you Win Yourself.

77. The two Boxes of Chocolate.

It was Christmas time, and on Christmas Eve the children hung up their stockings as usual. Next morning they were awake early, and eagerly turned out the stockings to see what they contained. Among other things Horace and Stanley found that they each had a beautiful large picture-box full of lovely chocolate creams.

After dinner on Christmas Day Stanley brought out his box, and handed it round to everybody, and by the next day his chocolates were all finished.

But Horace hid his box away in a drawer, and kept going to it, and taking out a few at a time, so his chocolates lasted much longer than Stanley's, and he ate them all himself, but we are obliged to say that he was rather selfish. "Shared joy is double joy," and of the two boys we are sure that Stanley would be the happier.

Shall I tell you a little secret? Selfishness will spoil the =other= stones if you let it come into your Temple, and as to the =gold=--the lovely gold of "Kindness" that the little "Gold-wings" brought--Selfishness will =eat it all away= in time. I am sure we all hate selfishness; let us write down

(Blackboard.)

We will not have the Ugly Stone "Selfishness" in our Temple.

78. Eva.[15]

Eva was not a very big girl, and her boots were generally cleaned by the older ones, but one day her mother said, "Eva, I wish you would brush your own boots this morning, we are all so busy".

"Oh mother!" said Eva, "you know it gives me a headache to brush boots, and I shall make my hands so dirty, and perhaps bespatter the floor with blacking as well." I am afraid Eva was rather a spoilt little girl, and this had made her somewhat selfish.

Half an hour later her mother came into the room again, just as Eva was lacing up her boots, and she inquired who had made them so bright and s.h.i.+ny. It was Eva's elder sister, Mary, and Eva knew that her mother was not pleased, but nothing more was said.

In the afternoon Mary and her mother went out shopping, and Eva hurried home from school, although she would have liked very much to stay for a while and play with the other girls. But she wanted to give mother a surprise. First she put the kettle on the fire, and then she laid the table all neatly and nicely, ready for tea. When everything was in its place, she went to the door several times to look for her mother and sister; at last she saw they were just turning the corner of the street, and Eva ran along to meet them, and said, "Come away, mother, tea is quite ready; I have been looking for you and Mary ever so long". And dear mother knew what it all meant.

It meant that Eva had been listening to the Good Voice, and that she was sorry she had been so selfish in the morning. The Good Voice says

(Blackboard)

Don't be Selfish. Help all you can.

FOOTNOTE:

[15] See No. 3 _New Recitations for Infants_, p. 8.

x.x.xII. CARELESSNESS.