The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-11-04
THE MASTERS STORY.

When Master Noble was appointed TO
take charge of the Oak Bridge schools.
he found, much to his surprise, that in
every grade, from the primary TO the
high schools, that there were many pu-
pills who had frequently been promoted
to higher classes, but, failing to get
their lessons during the first term, had,
at examination, been sent back to
lower grade again.
This had become such a common oc-
currence in the schools at Oak Bridge
that the spirit of honest and praise
worthy emulation was lost, and the pu-
pills felt it to be no humiliation or dis
grace to be dropped from higher class
to a lower one.
Something must be done to impress
upon them the disgrace of such indiffer-
ence, and to arouse their ambition"
thought the new master, aud he forth
with invited all the young folks in the
community to meet him the next Sat
urday afternoon at the town-hall to
listen to a story that he would tell.
OF course the promise of story from
the popular new master, and the fact
that he had recently returned from eX-
tensive travels, called the children and
young people all out, and this is what
they heard:
at is said that years ago beautiful
little brown sparrow made her home in
the garden of certain great and re-
nowned magician. She built her nest
in the grass, and was content to hop
and chirp about iii the rose thicket, and
to keep very near the ground indeed.
'She might have been happy enough
had she not allowed herself to be afraid
of the robin-redbreast that had a nest
in the golden sweet apple-tree, and was
always fluttering down and hop-hop-
hopping across the grass-plot, and peck
ing this way and that at the smaller
birds.
1.-The wise and tender-hearted magi-
clan, who had been closely watching
proceedings, had so much sympathy for
the timid, trembling little sparrow that
he said, She shall have chance in the
world and he forthwith changed her
into robin.
"No sooner had she got over the nov
city of her new situation than she began
to be afraid of the pigeOn-hawk that
came sailing down from the wood near
by in search of prey. So the magician,
still thinking to make something of
the timorsome little bird which was his
pet, now changed her into a pigeon
hawk.
Immediately she cast affrighted
chances at the big gray owl that lived
in hollow tree farther back toward the
edge of the forest, and who came out
On a dead branch at night-fall, and
hooted until the hillside rang again
with the unearthly screeches, and all
the smaller birds tucked their heads
under their wings, and put their claws
over their ears to shut out the sound.
'' will persevere.' said the tender
hearted magician; i may make some
thing of her YETI and straightway the
pigeOn-hawk became an owl, with a
voice equal to any of the owls in all
that forest.
"But now, instead of making the
most of her opportunity, and being
real, vigorous owl. she backed into the
old hollow tree, her great staring eyes
round with terror, as she tremblingly
listened to the terrific screams of a mon
strous eagle whose eyrie was on the
mountain facing. the surise.
''You shall be a sparrow againr
angrily cried the magician. You have
only the life and heart and spirit of a
sparrow after all. What is the use of
my trying to make anything else of you?
Had you asserted and kept your posi-
ton as an owl, l would soon have made
you an eagle, and you could have proud
" scared above all the birds of the air.
have done my best to help you along,
but you have not made one effort in
your own behalf
sit is the same with boy or girl"
continued Master Noble. IF pupils
have only the heart and the will and
the intellect of a sparrow, they will re-
main sparrows in spite of all their teach
ers may do to help them on and to en-
courage them. Study and a0iU are the
magicians that help them to maintain
their promotion, and the public exami-
nation is the great magician that as
signs them their advanced positions.
1.-The world over, sparrow-hearted
people are getting into eagles nests, but
keen-eyed public opinion is the great
magician who says, Go back to the
thicket and to the grass-plot again
You have only the heart and the brain
of sparrow; there is no use in trying
to make eagles of YOU
That is why to this day the names of
those birds are the symbols of the diff
ferent grades in the Oak Bridge schools, |
and Master Noble has never once been
obliged to say, ' Go back and be a spar
rol0 again. Mrs. Annie A. Preston, IN
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