This simple recipe for making a very little girl perform every day some slight act of kindness for somebody else is the _seed_ from which grows the larger _plant_ of helping the world along--the steady attitude of the older Scout. And this grows later into the great tree of organized, practical community service for the grown Scout--the ideal of every American woman today. The Pledge: ="I pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."= This pledge, though not original with the Girl Scouts, expresses in every phrase their principles and practice. Practical patriotism, in war and peace, is the cornerstone of the organization. A Girl Scout not only knows how to make her flag, and how to fly it; she knows how to respect it and is taught how to spread its great lesson of democracy. Many races, many religions, many classes of society have tested the Girl Scout plan and found that it has something fascinating and helpful in it for every type of young girl. This broad democracy is American in every sense of the word; and the Patrol System, which is the keynote of the organization, by which eight girls of about the same age and interests elect their Patrol Leader and practice local self-government in every meeting, carries out American ideals in practical detail. The Promise: =On My Honor I will try:= To do my duty to God and my country. To help other people at all times. To obey the Scout Laws. This binds the Scouts together as nothing else could do. It is a promise each girl _voluntarily_ makes; it is not a rule of her home nor a command from her school nor a custom of her church. She is not forced to make it--she deliberately chooses to do so. And like all such promises, it means a great deal to her. Experience has shown that she hesitates to break it. THE LAWS OF THE GIRL SCOUTS =I. A Girl Scout's Honor Is To Be Trusted= This means that a Girl Scout's standards of honor are so high and sure that no one would dream of doubting her simple statement of a fact when she says: "This is so, on my honor as a Girl Scout." She is not satisfied, either, with keeping the letter of the law, when she really breaks it in spirit. When she answers you, _she_ means what _you_ mean. Nor does she take pains to do all this only when she is watched, or when somebody stands ready to report on her conduct. This may do for some people, but not for the Scouts. You can go away and leave her by herself at any time; she does not require any guard but her own sense of honor, which is always to be trusted. =II. A Girl Scout Is Loyal=