“One week from today,” said Mr. Merryman one Friday afternoon, “we will all go on an excursion to get materials for our aquarium. I will appoint Joseph and Henry to look up, sometime between now and Wednesday, the best route for the school to take down to the creek. Remember, we want a dry path, for the children must not get wet feet. Lucy and Ellen, James and William may arrange for drag nets. Perhaps we shall have to make some of them. You may find out whether we can borrow them or not, and how much the material will cost if we need to make them ourselves. Henrietta and Edward may be sure that there are suitable dishes for bringing home our trophies. Find out just what we need. “Some of the little children won’t want to go so far as the creek, where they have to be so still, so I will appoint the sixth grade girls to form an entertainment committee to find a pleasant place at some little distance from the creek where the little ones can play. You will have a stock of games ready to entertain them while some of us are busy at the creek and when we have enough things, animals, plants, etc., for our aquarium, we will all come to the same place and there we will have our lunches together. Doris, Frieda and May of the girls, and Thomas, Fayette and Wilbur of the seventh and eighth grade boys may be the refreshment committee. The different committees may get together next Monday and talk over their plans. Make up your minds between now and then just what you need to talk about. Have everything planned and ready before the day of our excursion. Meanwhile all of us, in the nature class, will study about the aquarium and the animals that live in it. Our first lesson will be on Monday, about ‘How to make the aquarium.’ That is all for this afternoon.” It is needless to add that for a week the excursion and the studies and talks connected with it furnished many an hour of innocent and instructive diversion for the eager children. When the day came every detail had been thought out and prepared for so carefully that the event was entirely successful. Looking forward in expectation to the pleasure, filled the children’s minds too full to leave much room for mischief, and “discipline” in the sense of punishments sank into its legitimate place, far into the background.