The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1935-07-09
EYYoUR
CHILDREN



"If go to the store for you.
mother, may ! have a nickel?"
mo, David. / have just exactly
enough money to pay the laun-
dress. shall need every penny.
Be q good boy now and rnu along
and get me the butter"
"I'm tired. / don't want to go.
Billy wants me to play hop
SCOTCH"
would you be too tired IL I
gave you the nickel?" his mother
wanted to know. There was
amusement in her eyes.
"Well--you see,' said David, .if
had something to eat / would
feel stronger. It's funny about lee
cream cones. They sort Of cool
you off,"
II know, my dear, but can't
spare the money. Do you really
think you are too tired to go?"
"Oh, gimme the money and I'll
So" he sighed.
His mother looked down into the
brown eyes and she felt very sor-
ry for him. 1t was hot day. She
would have liked some ice-crcam
herself. She was tempted to say,
Bring home a pint and we'll all
have a party" because she was
pretty certain John would be home
in time to pay Mrs. Kurtch.
The Reward Seeker
But she had noticed tendency
in her small son recently to work
her for brides. He expected a
reward for any favor he might do
or any obedience he observed.
She had started the trouble her.
self in a way, by saying two or
three times, "You were so good
about helping, darling, that think
you deserve something very nice.'
And there had been a movie or a
dime or a special privilege forth
coming as a bonus.
Now she saw that it was going
to work the other way round.
Astute little go-getter that he was,
he was going to demand pay be-
fore he filled his contract.
Suddenly she knew she was
misrepresenting the facts. If sha
didn't play fair with him, how
could she expect honesty in re-
turn? Besides she knew that she
was looking for an alibi In fibbing
about the money.
"Davy," she said. 81 think !
could spare you a nickel If ! tried,
but 1t is this way. want you to
learn to do things for me and for
daddy and for other people too,
without thinking what there Is In
it for you. Everybody who is fine
and strong is that way.
"You like to hear stories about
heroes, you know, and heroes are
| people who do great big things,
even getting killed sometimes,
without expecting anything in re-
turn before they start out. I shall
read you some stories about differ
emit kinds of heroes some day, and
am sure you will see what
mean"
Spontaneous Gift
TITS all right, mother. guess
I know. I'll go for the butter, and
I don't want anything"
| She did not weaken and try to
make it UP to him in any way.
He got an ice-cream cone neither
that day nor the next. The third
day she said out of a clear sky,
David, here's dime. Go and
get cone apiece for yourself and
Billy"
why, mother?"
"Oh, just because like you.
When you like people and think
they try to do right, you feel like
doing something for them. ]
guess you call it a reward, or
something like that. 1t is not
what we were talking about the
other day. Sometimes you get
things and sometimes you don't.
That's the way life is. You have
to learn"
I'D be awful glad to do some
thing for you," he said. But she
just kissed him and said, "Run
along now. You're a terribly
grand little boy" And David won
dering why he was grand went
whistling down the steps.