DANGER
SIGNALS
Our
Little Friend- May 19: 1916.
WHEN
I was a very small girl, I lived with my grandfather in the city. Every
summer, I looked forward to going home to see my mother, and the dear little
brothers and sisters, who lived on a large farm.
One
day in early summer, my mother came for me, to take me to the farm, where I
was to spend four happy weeks. It was a long, long way; so I amused myself, as
we rode along in the carriage, by reading the signs I saw beside the road. I
was just learning to read, so it was great fun to pick out the longest words I
saw, and try to read them. But I did not know them all; and when I came to a
large sign by the side of a railroad track, my mother helped me read the
words, "Danger-Look-out for the train-cars."
"Has
my little girl never learned to know the danger signals?" my mother
asked, when we had safely crossed the track. "You will always find one of
these signs at every railroad crossing. They are placed there to tell us that
a crossing is a dangerous place; and we must see if any trains are coming,
before we try to cross."
And
then it was that she told me something I shall never, never forget. She said
there were many kinds of danger signals in the world, and she wanted me to
know them; for some of them were so very small, and looked so harmless, that I
might not be able to find them all alone.
"One
of these danger signals," she said, "is using bad language; and
whenever you are with anyone who uses bad words, that is a signal for you to
hurry away as fast as you can."
She
said that "Bad Manners" and "Keeping Bad Company" were
other, danger signals. Bad manners always go with bad company; and when we are
not careful about our manners, we are really putting out a danger signal that
will make people afraid to be with us.
The
dull, sleepy feeling that we sometimes have after eating, is a signal that we
have eaten too much. It is a signal we should watch closely; for if we do not
learn to control our appetites while we are children, we will riot be able to
resist bigger temptations when we are older.
Telling
untruths is still another signal we should be sure to see; and boys (&
girls) especially must watch the signal that says "Smoking." It is a
danger they should always avoid, or when they get to be bigger, they will
not be able to run when they see the signals "Drinking,"
"Swearing," and "Stealing.""
"But
we are almost home," said mother, "and I cannot talk to you longer.
To-night however, I will tell you how even the animals teach their little ones
the danger signals'"
That
night, when story time came, and I, with the other children, was sitting by
the side of my mother, she told us this story:
"In
some parts of the world, there lives an animal something like a reindeer. It
is called a caribou. I have read that one day a man was walking through the
woods, when, from the top of a little hill, he saw a mother caribou and her
calf feeding in the valley below him. He quickly hid behind a stump; but the
wind was blowing in the direction of the caribou, and already she had caught
his scent.
"At
once she thought of her little calf, and the danger it might be in. Here was a
danger signal, and she must teach her little one to avoid the danger. So she
brought her baby up the hill some distance toward the man, and made it smell
the ground where the man had walked. Then, to teach it that whenever it got
this scent again, it must run for its life, she got behind the calf, and
butted it down the valley as fast as it could go.
"That
is why I am telling you to-night about the danger signals. I want my boys and
girls to learn to watch for them, and when they see them, to run quickly away
from them. In this way, you will grow up to be strong and clean and
pure."
What
It Cost to Be a Drunkard
HELEN!
Helen!" The voice came from the rough, dirty bed in the corner of the
room, where Helen's father was lying. He was wild and raging with a craving
thirst for whisky.
Little
Helen was a sad-faced child of six. Her father had not always looked as he did
there in the dingy room. Helen could well remember when her father was a
minister. He had been a rich man, too, and had everything he wanted.
"Helen,"
he screamed, "I tell you to come to me."
"Yes,
father, what can I do for you?"
"Take
this pail, and go to the corner store.
Get
me drink, or I shall die."
"Oh,
father, I cannot. Oh, I cannot." "
He
answered, "Go! I tell you, go!"
"No,
father, I cannot. I promised mother, before she died, that I would try to
help you to be a better man, so we might be happy, and have a home again. And
then mamma said that Jesus would not want me to get drink for you, and that
Jesus would see me do it, if I did."
Her
father was very cross because his little girl would not get him whisky. But
Helen stood true to what she thought was right, even though she was weak and
sick herself because she did not have enough to eat.
Before
long, Helen died, too. Then her father went away to another town.
One
day he stood on a bridge at Niagara Falls in despair. As he looked into the
water below, he wished he could die. He wanted to jump into the water to end
his life. He wanted to end his trouble. As he was about to do the awful deed,
the words of little Helen seemed to come to him, "Jesus would see me do
it, if I did." The poor man turned away; and a few days later, as he
walked the streets of a large city, he heard some one singing. He heard the
name of Jesus. He went into the mission, and there he told how much it had
cost him to be a drunkard.
It
cost him his money.
It
cost him his happiness.
It
cost him his home.
It
cost him his dear wife.
It
cost him his sweet little girl.
He
made up his mind that it cost too much to be a drunkard. He gave his heart to
Jesus. Now he lives to gain eternal life, and have a home with Helen and her
mother.
A
Message to Boys and Girls
Dear
children, a few words especially to you: Don't use tobacco in any way. Don't
be drawn into it by the example of others. It is injurious to the health.
Young people, let tobacco alone.
In
taking strong drink of whatever name, there is great danger. It is bad for the
health. It is dangerous to good morals. It is a bad example for others. No one
in all the world was ever harmed by avoiding strong drink . . .. Let all your
influence be against this great evil -a greater danger to those who do not
avoid it than any other. You are old enough to know what it is to sign the
pledge. (A promise with God's help, not to use alcohol or tobacco in any form.) If your parents
are willing, I urge you strongly to do it. Neal Dow.
DANDY
- A TEMPERANCE PONY
ONE
sunshiny day, everything was excitement in our southern California town. There
was to be a big parade in the evening. If you were going to see a parade, you
would be clapping your hands with delight. To be sure, you would be excited
too.
Perhaps
you think I am going to tell you about an animal parade, for you know I love
animals, and like to talk about them. There were animals in the parade, but
not wild animals - just horses, and one shaggy little Shetland pony. It is
this little pony I want to tell you about especially, for I know you would
have been watching for him if you had seen the parade.
But
I have not told you yet what the parade was all about, and I feel sure you
could never guess. It was a temperance parade. There were horses and wagons,
and a band playing very grandly, men and women, and ever so many boys and
girls - even very little ones marching.
All
afternoon, the boys and the girls had been very busy helping the big folks get
the wagons ready. The wagons were decorated with flags, and pepper boughs, and
flowers, and big signs that read, "California Dry."
I
wonder if you understand what it means for a state to go dry. I tell you.
When
a state goes dry, there is no more whisky or wine or beer sold in that state,
and that means there are not so many hungry little children, and poor, sad
mothers. For whisky makes men very wicked, and they do not care even for their
own children, but will sell the furniture in their homes to get money to buy
strong drink. I am sure you would rather live in a dry state than in one that
is not dry.
Let
us suppose we are watching the parade go by. It is such a long one! So many
people in this little town believe in. temperance! Here comes Dandy, his
shaggy head bobbing up and down, and his little hoofs pattering on the paved
street. He is pulling a wagon, covered on the sides with large pictures of
happy little children who have good temperance fathers. At the back is the
picture of a poor little girl who is crying because her father is a drunkard.
We all wish we could do something for her.
On
the seat, holding the lines is a little boy, and beside him sits a little
girl. They are calling out, "Dry! Dry!" as loudly as they can; and
we too smile, and call out, "Dry! Dry!" That is one way very little
boys and girls can help the cause of temperance.
We
all need to speak up for Temperance and Healthful Living. Of course, boys and
girls must be careful what they eat and drink, or it will not matter very much
what they say.
Now
that is just the sort, of little temperance pony Dandy is. He is very fond of
apples. He likes them just as well as you like candy, or ice cream, or
something else that tastes very good.
One
day, a man who thought Dandy was a very dear little pony, was standing beside
him, eating an apple. Dandy asked, in his polite, pony way, for a bite. The
man thought he would be kind, so offered Dandy the rest of the apple, which
was only a bite for a pony. Dandy smelled it, and shook his frowsy head. No,
he would not take the apple, because the man was a tobacco user. (Dandy could
smell the tobacco smell on the apple.)
If
a temperance pony was so particular, how should boys and girls act who are to
be little lights in this world? Let us be very sure we are temperate
ourselves, and then perhaps we can help some one else.
If
Not, What Folly?
MUST
a boy be damaged in order to be happy? Must an apple be speckled to be
palatable? Can a dog run better on three legs than on four? Is it better to be
sick than well? Is black smoke better than pure air? If not, what folly for a
boy to smoke cigarettes! - - Rev. F. Flint, in a school address to boys.
What
Thomas A. Edison Said
Cigarette
smoking keeps boys from growing, it eats away their brains, it leaves yellow
trademarks on their fingers, and it steals the ruddiness from their cheeks,
and the brightness from their eyes. It hurts their hearing, and makes them
color-blind. It dulls all their finer natures, and takes away their purity,
their kindness, their love.
0
boys, let it alone, and help every other boy to let it alone, too. And, girls,
there are some girls who think it is smart to smoke cigarettes. You would not
think of going to a bottle labelled "Poison!" and drinking what it
contained. But when you smoke cigarettes, you are just as surely, though more
slowly, taking poison into your bodies. Let all poison alone if you really
want to live.
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