The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-12-18
EATING JAM OFF THE TOP.
How Renie Was Cured of a Bad Habit by
a Smart Mother.

How Renie Was Cured of Bad Habit by
Smart Mother.
Renie had a very bad habit She
sOouId eat the jam off the top Of her
bread, instead of biting clear through
bread, jam and all. And every day
this habit grew upon her. For you
know, bad habits do grow, and very
fast sometimes, too; just as fast as holly
hooks in summer, or toad-stoOls in win
ter. And the faster they grow, and the
bigger they get, the worst it is for the
person who has the habit, and the bet
ter it is for the habit that has the per-
son.
When Renie first got into her bad
habit, she was visiting her grandmother
in the country. And her grandmother
had such wonderfully good-natured
hired girl in the kitchen that she would
always spread Rene's bread over again
for her with more jam, no matter if
Renie came running back as many
as five or six times for every piece of
bread. Renie stayed in the country
about three weeks, and of course she
ate good many pieces of bread and
jam in that time. But the bread and
jam I'm talking about is what she ate
between meals, for at regular meal
| time she preferred other food
She had, let us say, five pieces of
bread a day; two between breakfast
and dinner, two between dinner and
supper and one piece at least after sup
per. And they were all spread, I'll soy
four times a piece, so as to be sure and
not exaggerate, though do really think
that good-natured hired girl frequently
spread them more times than that. Now
as one piece of bread spread four times
is equal to four spreads. five pieces of
bread spread four times is equal to five
times four spreads, equal to twenty
spreads, Just think! Fifteen more
spreads of jam a day than she ought 10
have hadl
And of course in three whole weeks
of time-but ] ibid not start out to make
you get the headache over a question in
mental arithmetic, so all I'll ask of you
is to Just consider for one moment what
monstrsus habit tina. jam-oh-the-top-
eating habit of Renie's must have grown
to be IN the three weeks time that she
spent at her grandmother Her NAM
ma was shocked enough when she found
it out, and no wonder. For by the
time Renie got home, the habit had
taken such deep root, and become such
a regular thing, that Renie herself was
hardly consc, Gus of it. She would eat
the Jam off her bread and leave. the
bread without eating it, just as you
would eat the mashed potato off from
your plate, and leave the plate without
eating it.
So her mamma set cut right away tc
cure her, out she found it was not such
very easy thing to do. For habits arC
hard things to cure, especially such {
big one Us this one was. She gave
Renie some bread and jam one morn
ing st half-past ten. and she said
Now, Renie, if you eat the jam off thu
l top, shall put no more on for you
You'll have to eat the dry bread, o
I 90 without till dinner-time. Do yol
hear?'
Renie said Yes. ma am" and raj
ont to the gate with the slice in he
hand, and then, in about one minute
. she--aie the jam off the top. An,
don't you think! She didn't know sh
was doing it until the jam gave out
She was so used to-, doing that way
= She started to sun straight in, rs usua,
D., 10 get her bread spread again, an
then she remembered that there was n
good-natured hired girl in he mamma
. kitchen, Only just a firm, solemn
u looking mamma, and a dreadful cro'
John Chinaman. So she laid the she
of bread on the fence, and left it thar
And the next day she did the san
+ thing over again, and the next day, an
II the next day, and the next day, an
- the next day.
The fifth day her mamma was out
the yard, when she saw the five slices
bread lying all in row on the fene
She felt very much provoked, and s.
lie saw that her little daughter was n
m cured yet, by any means, of the jam-o
g, the-top-eating habit So she sal
&C. ''Renie, you need not ask me for al
&C. bread and jam after this 10 eat betwe
re meals, for | shall not give you any.
see you don't really need any thing