Hang up your cap and coat, And put away your toys, Save mother all the work you can, Dear little girls and boys.
The recitation, "Two Little Maids" (_New Recitations for Infants_) would follow this Story Lesson appropriately.
Some one had brought baby a parcel of sweets. They were rather sticky, but baby did not mind that when the colours were so pretty! There were pink, blue, red and yellow sweets, and she was greatly pleased with them. Baby was very kind and unselfish, so she wanted us all to share her sweets, and picking one out with her little chubby fingers, (which were not any too clean), she offered it to mamma. You see baby was very tiny, and had not yet learnt that sweets should always be offered in the paper or box, and not be touched by the fingers at all. But mamma explained this to her, and then baby lifted up the paper, and trotted round to everybody, holding it out, and saying, "Please, take one".
Fruit and nuts should be offered in a plate or dish. It is not nice to touch with our fingers anything that we are offering to others.
I daresay you have sometime been in a room where a person was sleepy, and kept yawning continually. You know that by-and-by you begin to do the same yourself, and it is very disagreeable. A good plan is to run out of the room and bathe your face in cold water: that will soon make you feel bright again. It is not nice to yawn, because it makes other people feel sleepy, and we should never forget to cover the mouth with the hand: it is very rude to open the mouth wide, and not to put the hand in front of it.
In coughing and sneezing, people should make as little noise as they possibly can. Sometimes we hear coughing in church, and the minister can scarcely speak for the noise. A pocket-handkerchief will soften the sound a good deal, both in coughing and sneezing.
These are only little things, but they can make others feel uncomfortable, and you remember we said that it was rude to do =anything= that caused people to be uncomfortable (p. 110), so do not forget to
Cover the Mouth when Yawning; Make as Little Noise as Possible when Coughing or Sneezing.
You will have noticed that there is always moisture in your mouth. Where do you think it comes from? Perhaps you did not know that there were six tiny fountains in your mouth, two on each side the tongue, and one in each cheek. When you are well these little fountains pour out the fluid which keeps your mouth so nice and moist. Sometimes when people are ill the little fountains do not flow, and the mouth is all dry and parched, and they are longing to drink all the time.