The book of the child: An attempt to set down what is in the mind of children — John Shaqi
The book of the child: An attempt to set down what is in the mind of childrenHow, F. D. (Frederick Douglas)
Science
The book of the child: An attempt to set down what is in the mind of children
How, F. D. (Frederick Douglas)
Child psychology
“Twelve hat-boxes,” promptly replied Reggie with a flicker of humour
just lighting up his face. One turned up, and was found to contain
the entire clothing, etc., of the pair. This vast piece of luggage
was put in Baby’s room, and then came the request that they might be
allowed to unpack for themselves. Reggie was quickly hurried into his
own room with his tiny pile of belongings, and then Baby began to
unpack hers. She was shown a large wardrobe, as well as a good-sized
chest of drawers, and evidently felt that it would be _infra dig._
not to use them both, so, after putting one wee garment in one drawer
and one in another till each held something, she gravely took the
little bag which held her shoes and hung it up in solitary grandeur
in the wardrobe!
The extreme politeness and consideration of these little visitors
were continually coming out. Baby was asked whether she would like a
room to herself or a sofa in her hostess’s room.
“You see, Aunt E., I don’t know what to say,” was the reply. On being
pressed further, she said, “Well, I was thinking about the beds! It
seems a good deal of trouble just for us. You see, they are big beds.”
Reggie, too, was just as anxious to consider others. “If it isn’t too
much trouble,” he said, on being asked whether something should be
brought him. “I’m afraid when we are gone you will say ‘bother those
troublesome children’!”
He was just as attentive, too, to his sister, buttoning her little
petticoat for her and anything she couldn’t manage for herself.
The whole of the proceedings described so far were practically part
of a charade or play. The children were for these two days grown-up
people, and being endowed with an extra allowance of imagination,
played their part in every detail.
Not that they could keep it up quite all the time! There were games
at hide-and-seek that entirely dispelled illusion for a while. Then
there were visits to the poultry yard and animals, when it was
impossible to put such restraint upon one’s feelings of surprise and
delight as to appear properly blasé and grown up. For instance, when
Baby suddenly discovered a large field-spider, there was a scream of
astonishment as she exclaimed, “Oh, Aunt E., here’s a thing with a
lot of legs and a dot in the miggle!” And again, in the poultry yard,
it was scarcely in keeping with the part of a lady who had arrived at
years of discretion to say, “How I should like to lay in those nice
lickle nests!”
[Sidenote: The Children Leave.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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