A million little germs Got to work right then, Made a little hole, And soon made ten. One little girl, In very great pain, Said, "I never will forget To brush my teeth again." CLOVIS, THE BOY KING Long, long ago, on the banks of the Rhine, there lived a brave and war like tribe called Franks. Their name means "Freemen." I always think Frank is a very nice name for a boy or girl to have. It is so grand to be really and truly free. These Franks had for their leader a king, and, at the time I am going to tell about, their king was a boy. His name was Clovis and he was only sixteen years old. You would hardly think that a boy could rule those fierce warriors, but he was such a brave and fearless boy, and had such a good sensible head that they were glad to follow him. He was never afraid of anything, even when he was a little fellow, and he could tame and ride the wildest horse as well as the best man among them. One day a great idea came into the heads of the Frankish warriors. They thought they would leave their old homes on the banks of the Rhine and go and settle in a new country called Gaul. It would have been easy enough, perhaps, if there had been nobody there but the natives and the wild beasts, but that was not the case. The Romans were there. I am sure you have heard of the Romans and how very strong and warlike they were. Their soldiers conquered the world and were very seldom beaten. They had an army in this country of Gaul. Clovis was not afraid of the Romans, however, and he marched against them. The two armies stood facing each other and the two leaders came out to speak together in an open space between the camps. The Roman general was very big and grand, and he had Roman soldiers on each side of him in splendid uniform. Clovis was accompanied by some of his brave followers. When the Roman leader saw Clovis, he burst out laughing and cried, "Why, he's a boy! A _boy_ has come to fight against the Romans!" He thought it was so funny that a boy of sixteen should dare to fight against him that he couldn't do anything but laugh. Clovis did not like this at all, and he shouted back, "Yes, but the boy will conquer you!" [Illustration: "YES, BUT THE BOY WILL CONQUER YOU!"] Then came the battle, and the Roman general found it wasn't so funny after all. For the boy did conquer him and he ran away. Afterwards the Franks gained the country for themselves and called it their own name, France. I believe in boys. I think they can do almost anything. I believe in girls, too, just as much. The girls did not fight in this battle I have been telling you about, but there is another and better kind of battle in which boys and girls fight side by side.