The most interesting questions were asked her each day. At first the young mother was rather embarrassed, but they were asked with such simplicity and frankness that she realized the prudery was in herself alone, she soon entered the talks and answered their questions. These were mainly of the little one’s movements, etc. Can it see? said one. Does it kick? said another. Does it like ice cream? etc., etc., all perfectly innocent questions which can be answered, and makes the reproductive act the natural and beautiful part of life that it really is. Soon the young mother and the children were on the most friendly terms. They would come to her and confide their secrets to her, tell her words other boys had used and asked her about these words. They came to her in preference to telling their parents, which shows again the necessity of every mother being the first one to tell the child this sex knowledge, for the one who does tell it usually holds a strong influence over the child for some years to come. They were taken to a farm some miles away to see a calf a few days old. Stories were read to them at this time about the habits of these animals and the care of their young. They were taken to the Museum of Natural History in New York and to Bronx Park, and such excursions were red letter days in their book of childhood. They were told of the freedom of the animals in choosing their mates—that beauty and strength seemed the greatest qualifications. The story of the bees was briefly told. How the queen bee leaves her home amidst the hundreds of male bees who are all anxious to be the father of the future hive. How she rambles about for a little while, then up she flies—up, up, straight into the clouds with hundreds of male bees following. Gradually the weakest bees drop off and return, but the stronger ones still follow until there are often only two male bees left in the race. The weaker of the two returns and the strongest bee of the whole hive wins the queen bee, and fertilizes the eggs within her body. After this act of reproduction he dies, and Mrs. Bee returns to her hive and lays thousands of bee eggs. The strongest gave his life that the future bees should be given his great strength. The children were sad about this. They wanted the strongest to live, and it was now the place to teach them of their own bodies, what cleanliness and strength means to the future race of man. To give the children an idea of the shape of the uterus, Bobby’s mother took a pear, turned the large side up, letting the stem part hang down, it was then cut open lengthwise, the seeds, core and stem removed. Both halves were fastened together again with thin sticks just to get an idea of the shape of the baby’s nest. The part where the stem was is like the passage where the little one comes out into the world after the seeds have grown. CHAPTER VII. _Man’s Development._