y in which caves were formed. A much better opportunity to teach
him this lesson is presented later.
Ask the child why Sharptooth dipped up the water with her hand. Do not
be discouraged if some child thinks that she might have used a tin
dipper. It is only by discovering the misconceptions of the child that
we are able to correct them.
The language of the Tree-dwellers was probably in a very undeveloped
state. That fact is merely suggested in the story.
_Lessons X. and XI._ The first of these lessons conveys the truth that
people have taken many suggestions from animals in order to better their
condition in life. This does not imply that man is inferior to the
animal, but merely that he is inferior in some one respect, or that he
depends less upon instincts and thus has a greater need of training.
If the child learns at this early stage that there is no person or no
creature too insignificant to teach him something, he will have learned
one of the most valuable lessons in life. The child may not be able to
tell why the wild hog has lost its tusks, but he will enjoy thinking
about it. He can observe or find out in other ways that the domesticated
hog no longer has them, and by comparing the difference in the mode of
life of the animal in the wild and in the domestic state he can see that
the wild hog needed tusks and used them, while the domestic hog of
to-day does not have them. Children are so keen in their thought that
they can soon get the relation that exists between the use of an organ
and the state of its development. This point, introduced here, paves the
way for the lesson of the wild horse.
Let the children represent by pantomime the way in which the wild hogs
protected their young.
_Lesson XII._ The only point that is liable to need explanation here is
the fact that Sharptooth required Bodo to take care of himself when he
was only a child. This can be more easily understood if it is taken into
consideration that mothers frequently had another child to take care of
at that time, and so of necessity were obliged to let the older child
take care of himself. The fact that Sharptooth took pains to teach Bodo
all that she knew, and that she left him only when he was able to take
care of himself, justifies the act sufficiently. The slow development of
father love is less easy to explain and will not be attempted at this
time.
_Lesson XIII._ Read the general suggestions, pages 133 and 134, before
attempt
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