The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1913-08-01
AN ANIMAL STORY
WITH A MORAL

! In the August American Magazine
appears an interesting article about
Rats" by William Hawley Smith. II
is a true story of talk the author
had with teacher and he reports. In
part as follows, his conversation with
the rat trainer:
L asked him first how long he had
been in this rat business, and he re-
, piled: Not so very long NIT rats; but
Z; always from a boy, can do vateffer
4 I like NIT animals of all kinds. For
Ia long time l vas NIT horses and dogs,
but after a vile I dink likes rats
better SO dry 'em unit I likes dem
better.
Where do you get these rats?
oh / got rats effry' blaze ! go!
rat don't last me SO very long, SO !
got to get new rats all der time.
And said: Why don't they last
you long? Do they run away from
you?
And he replied: Oh nein! My rats
dey neffer runs away. But / works
dem burtty hardt, unit dey vas crowd
ed burtty CLOSE in der box, unit don't
can feed dem so very veil, unt-oh
veil holdings lieffs so very long IL
you took him away from we're he per-
longs py nature yet!
How long will rat live inquired.
Dot depends on we're he is, the man
replied. Now If rat liefs py a gorn.
grip, unit he don't got caught in trap
or a cat don't got him, he will lief
fife seek, ten years-some rats dey
lief burrtty long. But 1t vas burtty
goot rat Will lasdt me seek mondths.
How do you catch them? I asked.
Nit my hands! he answered.
Don't they bite you when you catch
them with your hands? asked.
Oh nein! No rat effer bites me he
responded. Not any animal effer bites
me. Dey know better as dot, all kinds
OF dem.
Well how long does 1t take you to
teach rat these tricks? I inquired.
Oh veil he returned !, couldn't told
you dot eggsackly. 1t all depends on
der kind OF rat vot you got to deach.
Now, if got a goot bright rat, / deach
him anydngs he can learn in two or
dhree days already. But of ! got
rat vos a tam foll-vell neffer could
deach him holdings!
Wei. ! sa d, II you get good
bright rat can you teach him anything
you want to?
oh nein nein- he answered. Some
rats will learn Won d ngs unit some will
learn odder dings. Unit dots a funny
ding apout dot! You couldn't always
told by der looks of rat vust vat he
can learn.
An then he added: Unit dots yust
der difference pe.ween a goot rat
deacher unit a school-deacher!
school deacher he drinks he can deach
any child anydings dat he bleases;
but he couldn't do it! Schildren is
yust like rats. Some schildren viii
learn someodder dings; unit ven
man vos a goot shool deacher he viii
find out first vat sch.ld can learn
unit, deach him dot dings, unit, not
waste his time trying to deach him vat
he don't neffer learn.
And now good people who reaG-th
story please do not tn nix that 1t Is all
a madeup yearn, for 1t Is anything
but that. It is a truthful tale, told
just as it happened, as nearly as am
able to tell 1t. And because it is So
want to add just word in closing:
spent four Of the best years Of my
young life in one of the best normal
schools in this part Of the country,
trying to learn how to teach school.
My teachers were among the best
men and women ever knew and they
were all teachers Of wide experience
who did their best with me to help
me become what l greatly wished to
become namely a first class teacher.
After they got through with me
taught school and superintendent
| teachers for many years; and after
that 1t was my fortune to travel this
country over, visiting schools and
seeing hundreds and thousands Of
teachers OF all sorts, sexes and sizes,
at work in schoolrooms; and am
here to state that learned more OF
what l firmly believe to be the fun
damental facts regarding school teach
ing from that common rat teacher
than ] DID ever learn elsewhere in all
my life And | believe that, today the
real reason why our schools are not
doing any better than they are-why
thav ora NOT aducatIno, ,,o.o -