Fifty-Two Story Talks to Boys and GirlsChidley, Howard J. (Howard James)
Religion
Fifty-Two Story Talks to Boys and Girls
Chidley, Howard J. (Howard James)
Children's sermons
So one day he called together his court-messengers, and sent them out
into the world, telling them to travel far and wide until they found a
man who was happy beyond all others, and when they found him, to take
off his shirt and bring it to him. For he thought that perhaps by
wearing this shirt he might gain the happiness he sought.
The messengers went forth, and after a long search finally found a man
who seemed happier than all his fellows. And as he sat singing in the
sunshine the king's messengers pounced upon him to take away his shirt;
but lo, when they took his coat off they found he had no shirt!
The story means this, that happiness does not depend upon what you have
or have not. It comes from within, and not from without. If you have the
right spirit you will have a song, riches or not. But if you have not
the right spirit you will not be happy, no matter what you have.
A SERMON FOR THE BOYS
A teacher said the other day that ninety boys out of every hundred who
fail in grammar schools and high-schools smoke tobacco. He says also
that boys who smoke are nearly all unruly and disobedient in school. And
he says again, that boys who get their lessons well and stand high in
grammar-schools take lower marks in high-school if they begin to smoke
in high-school. This ought to be enough to make any boy stop and think
before he begins to smoke, for it shows that it not only hurts a boy's
mind, but his morals also.
I think the reason most boys take up smoking is not because they like
it, but because their schoolmates do it, and they want to be one of "the
crowd." When you boil that down it means either that a boy wants to be
smart, or else he has not courage enough to stand alone; that is, he is
a coward.
You would not think much of a boy who was about to enter a race and,
just before he entered it, hurt his foot on purpose, so that he could
not run his best, would you? Well, that is just what every boy does who
smokes: it hinders him in the race of life. You ought not to smoke
before you are twenty-one years old, because your body is not strong
enough to stand it. The safest way is not to smoke at all, but at least
don't smoke until you get your growth.
TIRE-TROUBLE
People who own automobiles have a great deal to say about
"tire-trouble." There are a great many kinds of tire-trouble. In the
first place, a tire often gets punctured by a nail running into it. Then
there are "blow-outs" caused by the inner tube giving way. Then there
are leaky valves, by which the air slowly leaks out. There are also
sand-blisters, caused by little particles of sand getting into the tire
and making a swelling in it, which soon gives way. And finally tires may
get rim-cut, which means that the steel rim which fastens them on wears
them through by rubbing. The result of these things is what is known as
a flat tire with all the air gone out, and the automobile bumps on the
hard rim.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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