The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-07-20
AN animal STORY
WITH A M0RSAL


appears an interesting article about
Rats by william Hawley Smith.
! 1t is IA true story OF talk the author
had with a wonderful rat trainer. The
! author is teacher and he reports,
1 in part. as follows. his conversation
with the rat trainer:
II asked him first how long he had
been in this rat business, and he re-
piled: Not so VERY long nit rats; but
ALWAYS. from boy, | can do vateffer
/ | like NIT animals of all kinds. For
a long time / vas NIT horses and dogs;
but after a vile | dink ] likes rats
better. so i dry EN-, unit / likes dem
better
''.Where do you get these rats?'
oh, / got rats effery blaze | go!
A rat don't last me so VERY long, so
1 / got to get new rats all der time.
And / said: why don't they last
you very long? De they run away
from your
And he replied: oh, nein' My
rats. dey neffer run away. Fut | works
dem burtty hardt. unit dey was crowd
ed burtty CLOSE in der box. unit |
don't can feed dem So very veil. unit
oh, veil. nodding lieffs so VERY
! long If you took him away from we're
he perlongs Ply nature, YETI
"'How long will q rat live?' / In
/ quired.
dot depends on we're he is the
man replied. Nov, If rat lieffs Ply
gorn-grip, unit de don't got caught
in trap, or q cat don't got him, he
will lief fife. seek. ten years--some
rats dey lief burtty long. But 1t vas
burt y goot rat viii lasdt me seek
mondhs.
"'How do you catch them p ask
ed
Unit my hands, he answered.
Don't they bite you when you
catch them with your hands, l said
"'Oh. nein! No rat effer bites me-
he responded. Not any animal effer
/ bites me. Day know better as dot, all
kinds OF DEM
We'll. how long does It take you
/ to teach a rat these tricks?' I in
CURED.
| "'Oh, WE'LL he returned, I couldn't
i told you dot eggsackly. 1t all der
| ponds on der kind of a rat vot you
got to deach. Now, of I got a goot
bright rat / deach him anydings he
can learn tn two, dhree days already.
/ But of | got rat vos tam fool---vell.
/ neffer could deach him holdings"
! "Well. / said. If you get a good
! bright rat, can you teacR him any
! thing you want tor
! "'Oh. nein. neinr he answered.
Some rats viii learn Won dings, unit
/ some odder rats will learn some odder
dings. INT dots a funny ding apout
dot! You couldn't always told by der
/ looks of rat yust vat he can learnt
( And then he added; Unit dots
yust der Inference between a goot rat
deacher unit a school-deacher! a
/ Chool-deaeher, he drinks he can deach
+ any schild anydings vat he bleases;
but he couldn't do 1t! Schildern is
/ learn Won ding. unit some odder schil-
/ dern will learn some odder dings. nnt
ven man vos goot school deacher
he will find out first vat schild can
learn, unit deach him dot dings. unit
not waste his time trying to deach him
vat he don't MGR can learn
And now. good people who read
this story. please do not think that
1t is all a made-up yarn, for 1t is
anything but that. 1t is "A truthful
tale, told Just as it happened, as
nearly as ! am able to tell it. And.
/ because it is SO. want to add just
a word in closing:
II spent four of the best years of
my young life in one of the best NOR
NAL schools in this or any other coun-
I try, trying 10 learn how to teach
school My teachers were among the
best men and women ! have ever
known, and they were all teachers of
long and wide experience who did
their best with me to help me be-
come what / greatly wished to be;
namely, a tirst-class teacher. After
they got through with me I taught
school and superintendent teachers for
many years and after that 1t was
my fortune to travel this country
over visiting schools and seeing hun
dreds and thousands of teachers, of
all sorts, sexes, and sizes. at work in
schoolrooms and I am here to state
that ] learned more of what ] firmly
believe to he the fundamental facts
regarding school-teaching from that
common rat teacher than I ever
Learned elsewhere in all my life' And
IL believe that. today. the real rea-
1 son why our schools are not doing
any better than they are-why they
are not educating more of the children
they are trying to teach and are paid
/ for teachings because they fail to
understand and comprehend these
simple pedagogical principles which
4 this common man so simply yet forci-
bly, stated to US boys as we stood
around him. saw him fed his pets, and
listened TO what he said"
4