Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-05-22

- it het Nhi' yohh ahSNt"h Va ouA Mo
remark mignS have been witty, but
certainly Eot humorous.
OF course there is danger OF your
growing lat II you cultivate this splr-
II too iar, but never mind, | can as.
sure you 1t doesn't hurt. The teach
children, the children who work with
tne best spirit and are loved by teach.
ers and pupils alike are always ready
to laugh when there Is good cause
for II.
Probably more than any one thing
the American spirit is a spirit OF prog
ress, but here word of caution is
necessary-do not for a moment think
that progress means hurry. This
spirit of hurry, Dr. S. Weir Mitchell
refers to as moral measles and
warns one about exposure to tnis
dread disease. ! believe | can show
You what [ mean by reading to you
q little fable that 1 brought with me
today:
A Fable OF the Progressive Hen.
once upon time, there was Hen
that wanted to be Progressive. While
sitting upon a nest full OF Eggs. with
nothing much to occupy her Atten-
tion, her mind drifted easily into
Philosophy and very soon she was
struck with a Bright Idea. She said.
Il see all about me many New Ways
of doing Things. II is an age OF
Economy and Time Saving, but amidst
1t all | see Few signs OF Improvement
among Chickens. am supposed to
Sit upon these Eggs for three full
weeks Just as my grandmother did
and she sat upon hers Just az long as
our Ancestors did some thousands OF
years ago. 1t is Evident that this Is
quite Wrong, and the possibility of
Saving some time seems now to me
to be 80 Easy that wonder 1t never
Occurred to me before. can readily
accomplish the End in this Way. !
shall shorten the time OF the flrst
week by twenty-four Hours, which
will be the saving OF whole Day
| shall reduce the second week by
Another day, and the third week by
a like amount, and thus Add three
Long and Beautiful days to the life
Of my chickens. This will give them
a much better Start In the World, and
many more chances for Usefulness.
have often noticed, In the Summer
time. tnat a whole generation of In
sects will come and go within throe
days. and also that Crop Of seeds
will Ripen and be destroyed by al
storm in the same Time. My chick.
ems Smuggling within their Shells
thus often lose forever many Advant.
ages that would be OF Untold value In
the physical and Social life OF a
fowl"
Having thus solved Vital Prob |
lem the Hen called TO a Rabbit that
was dozing In clump Of grass near
by and explained her Scheme to him,
and he said that so Wise Plan
should have mis- Cordial support She
then assembled all the Barnyard Folk
that were idling away their time Dust
ing their feathers and Pecking for
stray Kernels of Corn. As they
stood around cooking their eyes and
listening to her Cogent Reasoning,
they nudged each other with their
wings and said It was a good thing.
Each one could see at a Glance how
Much he mad missed The Gander
said he now understood why Goslings
could never become Anything but
Geese-it took them so eternally
long TO be born. tihat all the real Char
acter Building opportunities were
Swiped by the more thrifty chickens.
who got the start Of goose by a
all agreed to Support the Proposition
that was made by the Hen, and as
they strolled away TO their various
Spots OF Sunshine they referred to
her as Progressive" and she soon
came to be known as an Educator"
At the end Of eighteen days the
Hen arose from her Nest and care
fully examined each Egg, but not
shell was broken. Breaking away
the shell from one OF the eggs, she
Exposed the chicken within, which
family struggled. gave gasp or two
and died. Sne broke another with
the same result and another and an
other, until the Entire lot had been
Matched. While the Hen stood by
surveying the nest in the first Flush
of success, a rooster strolled up. and.
lifting his Wings In Amazement. ne
exclaimed. Why. Madam, what Is
this you have Done?" my liege."
she replied, 81 have been shortening
the Course" Il see, see," he an
swered. "You have shortened the
course. indeed. but you nave killed
the chicks"
Moral: II Is perfectly proper to
Shorten the Course, but we must be
careful how we try II on the Children.
Never get an idea that education
makes you superior; 1t will make you
better It will make you happier. 1t
will make you better but you will
only become superior when in spirit
you become like little child. The
truly great soul Is always simple, al
ways humble.
You have well earned these diplo
I