Katharine Elizabeth Dopp

“ By so doing, the killing of wild beasts, which, when considered as an end in itself, arrests the development of the finer feelings by fixing attention upon suffering without any purpose, becomes transformed into an act of great social significance; for we must not forget that the cave-men, by exterminating the most dangerous of the wild beasts, made the earth a more fit dwelling place for all succeeding ages. ”

“ Just then Betty came in from play.
“Where are you going Monday afternoon, Bobby?” she asked.
“Mother and I are going somewhere. You can’t go.”
“Betty may go with us,” said Mother. “She needs a new dress.”
“Good!” cried Betty, “I’m going to have a new dress. Shall we buy it of the dressmaker, Mother?”
“No, dear. We don’t buy dresses at the dressmaker’s. The dressmaker makes dresses.”
“She made a pretty dress for you, Mother,” said Betty. “I think she will make one for me.” ”

“ All the men were angry with Blackcloud. He had frightened the herd away. Fleetfoot had planned to surround the bison as they were surrounded before. But a stronger and braver young man than Blackcloud, helped Fleetfoot lead the lines.
Handle of a Cave-man’s hunting-knife with engraving of a man hunting the bison.
Nobody dreamed that Blackcloud would do it. Everybody knew that each one must be careful not to frighten the herd. The men crept quietly through the grass when they saw a bison browsing near the line. ”

“ This is the significance of the educational movement at the present time.
As long as a simple organization of society prevailed, the school was not called upon to take up the practical work; but now society has become so complex that the use of practical activity is absolutely essential. Society to-day makes a greater demand than ever before upon each and all of its members for special skill and knowledge, as well as for breadth of view. These demands can be met only by such an improvement in educational facilities as corresponds to the increase in the social demand. ”

“ Simple Simon wanted to buy a pie, but he didn’t have a penny.”
“It takes money to buy a pie,” said Father. “Simple Simon learned that.”
“If I meet a pieman, I’ll buy a pie,” said Betty. “I’ll give him my penny for a pie.”
“Are there any piemen now?” asked Bobby.
“Piemen do not walk the streets now,” answered Father. “They sell pies and cakes in shops.”
“Is the baker a pieman?” asked Bobby.
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“We don’t call him a pieman,” said Father, “but he makes and sells pies.”
“The baker sells bread, too,” said Betty. “He sells rolls and buns.”
“Why does the baker wear a white coat?” asked Bobby. ”

“ But there was no punk to be found.
The rhinoceros had trampled it under his feet.
In vain Sharpeyes tried to find a spark.
When at last he knew that the fire was all gone, he decided to go back to the fire country.
He went as far as the dry, rocky country, where he was chased by a pack of wolves.
He barely escaped to a neighboring tree, where the wolves kept him treed for a day.
When the wolves went away, he was nearly starved; he was tired and discouraged, too.
His clothing was torn, and his weapons were lost; so he dared not cross the dry country again. ”

“ I’m not afraid of him now.”
“This policeman is a kind man,” said Mother. “I wish all policemen were like him.”
“Aren’t they all big brothers?” asked Bobby.
“That is what they should be,” answered Mother. “But not all policemen are big brothers.”
“I am glad we found the big-brother kind,” said Betty.
“So am I,” said Mother. “But tell me, children, why did you follow the organ-grinder beyond the end of this block?”
“He played beautiful music,” said Betty. “The music pulled us along, Mother.”
“I know,” answered Mother. “I know how music pulls you along. ”

“ Man’s fear, which with the conquest of fire gave way to courage, has resulted in his mastery of many mechanical appliances and in the development of social coöperation, which so increases his power as to make him an object of fear to the wild animals. Since the wild animals now try to escape from man’s presence, there is a greater demand made upon man’s ingenuity than ever before in supplying his daily food. The way in which man’s cunning finds expression in traps, pitfalls, and in throwing devices, and finally in a remarkable manifestation of art, is made evident in these pages. ”

“ The teacher who knows that she has good ground for her convictions is not afraid to look upon a question from all sides. The fact that the teacher is willing to look at a question from the child’s point of view is a means of establishing sympathetic relations between her and the child, who thus becomes willing to look at the question from the teacher’s point of view. A sounder morality can be developed by honestly facing the facts with the child and by 134 giving him the benefit of a broader experience, than by leaving him to face the situation alone in the light of but part of the facts. ”

“ Lesson I. The inexperienced child may think of a cave as a dark, damp place, fit only for the habitation of wild animals. The cave as a habitation for man is a new idea and cannot be understood unless it is related to the natural and social conditions which prevailed during the earliest stages of culture. The child who has read The Tree-Dwellers knows that before people learned to use fire, the caves were inhabited by the cave-bear, the cave-lion, the sabre-toothed felis, and by packs of spotted hyenas. He is prepared to understand why people were glad to live in caves. ”

“ And Flaker, turning to the scouts, said, “The gods will lead you. Follow where the green grass is cropped. Follow where the grass is trampled. These are the signs which the gods will give to show that you are on the right way.” ”

“ Encourage the child to invent ways of getting a cave from a wild animal, but hold him responsible for the use of only such means as the cave-men had. The child who would use a gun, or even a bow and arrow, must learn that these devices were not yet invented, and that man had to use his mind to devise some way of conquering the wild beasts without the aid of such weapons. ”

“ If the child learns at this early stage that there is no person or no creature too insignificant to teach him something, he will have learned one of the most valuable lessons in life. The child may not be able to tell why the wild hog has lost its tusks, but he will enjoy thinking about it. He can observe or find out in other ways that the domesticated hog no longer has them, and by comparing the difference in the mode of life of the animal in the wild and in the domestic state he can see that the wild hog needed tusks and used them, while the domestic hog of to-day does not have them. ”

“ You may buy what you please.”
“May I buy a chocolate cookie with my penny?” asked Betty.
“Yes, Betty,” answered Mother. “It is your penny.”
“Was it mine when the baker gave it to Bobby?” asked Betty.
“No, dear,” answered Mother. “The penny was not yours.”
“Whose pennies were they when the baker gave them to Bobby?” asked Betty.
“I know,” said Bobby. “They were Mother’s pennies. That’s why we had to bring them to her.”
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For study and play:
There is nothing so kingly as kindness,
And nothing so royal as truth. ”