Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-13
Wit and Wisdom of Children.


Sometimes children show natural aptitud,
Tor their future professions while very young.
A woman, now eminent as a surgeon and physi-
clan, when she was five years old electrified her
family by trying to cut up live toad. As the
meat knife was taken away from her and the
toad rescued, and she was being led away for
punishment, she said between her sobs Else
not bad: jest wanted to find what made
him hop; Use wanted to find the moving string
that made him jump" She found q moving
power in her mothers slipper, which unfortu-
nately made the embryo surgeon jump.
a child's mother is its highest ideal, aud next
to the mother comes the teacher. Few teach
ears keenly realize the awful responsibility of
their work, or wonder if they are pure and
honest enough to stand before the innocent be-
lievlng eyes OF their little pupils. A charming
teacher who seemed to have the rare gift of
teaching-a good teacher is as rare as a good
poet-said the children themselves taught her
some OF the deepest lessons she knew.
She had little five-year-old pupil. A win
some sprite with golden head and delicate
face that seemed to reflect every thoughtin her
wise baby head She was learning a lesson
from a chart one day and was making pic
ture of each word she learned. She made "a
box. "a fish with wings, and so on, until she
learned the word cat. II can't make cat" She
said. The teacher took the crayon and hurriedly
sketched a picture of a cat Acat is hard thing
to sketch at best and to tell the very truth it was
not a very good drawing. The child's face was
clOuded with sorrow. She looked at the drawing
and then at the teacher, In panied sort of
wOnderment. The teacher was puzzled greatly.
What did it mean? Then it dawned on her that
the child, of course, thought she could do
everything and here she had made an ignoble
failure. just as she was thinking how she
could extricate herself and still keep the childs
faith in her ability, the little one solved the
problem satisfactorily. Her expressive little
face lighted up. she clapped her hands glee-
fully and exclaimed, 81 know what's the matter
with it, Miss Dorothy; it's a wild cat, it 8 wild
cat!' The kiss the child received from the
teacher meant more than thanks.
Ragged Tom had an uncle he was very proud
of. Tagged Tom lived in the far west and
thought his father was rich, cause he came
home every Saturday night a-jingling dollars
in his pocket. But Uncle Harry is awful rich,"
said Tom. with reverence. HE goes to Prince
ton. Is that far OFF, Upon being assured it
was Tom continued his eulogies of his uncle.
newell. l spect it's good place, cause Uncle
Harry goes to it, and he has all the spending
money he wants. and don't swear. Why" said
Tom, excitedly walking backward, "Miss Doro-
thy, Uncle Harry is good he wouldn't say
| nothing to nobody, never"
"Do you know we are all animals?" said the
| teacher. stopping in the story she was reading
on kindness to Animals" and looking at fifty
insulted. loyal little girl, neat and trim
as pin, with bonny, freckled face and black
hair chopped off behind her ears, rose in
defense of the teacher. She wiggled with ner-
vousness and bodied her head menacingly at
her fOrty-nine companions, and exclaimed
excitedly: ''ies We are all animals, and once
we were'bugs crawling in the dust" Whether
she was a born Darwinian or had been rocked
to sleep by an orthodox mother singing from
Watts hymn that line, ''Such worm as l. ~
was never discovered. A boy companion, in
spired by her loyalty, raised his hand and ex-
planned that he knew we ''are all animals cause
he heard a lady talking to his mother about
man she said would soon be a dumb brute.
cause he walked almost horizontally now"