THE STORY OF A KITE
--Conceit
--Vanity

A Fable Talk to Children About the Ambitious Flier Which Broke the
String.

THE LESSON--That sometimes the things which seem to be hindering us
and holding us down are the very things which we need to hold us up
and build us up.

In the days of our grandfathers and grandmothers, the children were
taught from the beginning to perform many household duties which the
children of today know nothing of. Whether it be a cause or an effect,
the truth of the matter is that the modern tendency is to get away
from the home influence and home responsibilities at a very early
age--to break loose from "mother's apron strings." The talk deals with
this phase of modern life.

~~The Talk.~~
~~(By Chas. D. Meigs.)~~

"I am going to draw you a picture this morning, and I am wondering
which one of you will be able to tell me first what it is a picture
of. I will go a little slow, so you can all follow every line and
think real hard what it is going to be! [Begin drawing Fig. 126, at
the lines indicating the distant foliage; then draw the tail, and
finally the kite frame and string.]

[Illustration: Fig. 126]

"No, no, no! It's not a wood pile! It's not a gridiron! No, it is not
a trap! Where's the boy who said 'kite?' He's the smartie, for he got
it right. Yes--it's a kite, and it was John's kite.

"One day the wind came up just right for the kite, so John got it out,
called to his chum, Harry, across the street, and said, 'Say, Harry,
come on--let's go out and fly the kite; the wind is just dandy today.'

"So, away the boys went, and before they reached the open lot three or
four other kids had fallen in line, and they went along to help have
the fun. 'Now, Harry, you take the kite and run out there towards that
old stump,' said John, 'and when I pull the string, you stop and hold
the kite up over your head as high as you can and when I say 'ready'
you let her go.' Away went Harry, and he held up the kite. [Let
speaker hold up a song book, high.] 'Are you ready?' 'Yes.' 'Well,
then, let her go.' And with that, along came a gust of wind which laid
hold of that kite and began to climb right up towards the sky with
it. Higher and higher it went till the kite which was really as tall
as the boy who owned it, didn't look much bigger than his hat But
Harry kept on letting out the string, till the hat looked like a bird
with a great long tail.' [Let speaker here shade his ey