6 DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT 



thought, who often made a mark that was intended 

 to keep my memory green, has faded until all that 

 is left of him, beyond his name, is the preparatory 

 working of his arm to give it greater freedom and his 

 creaky voice saying, 'Your father pays for this — 

 and this. Now miche from school again.' 



I had a friend — a bold bad boy — who took the 

 treats his father paid for like a man, and he had 

 a sister who looked at us with wondrous pitying 

 eyes, thereby perhaps but making us the bolder. 

 Her face v/as the prettiest I had ever seen and grew 

 in beauty with my knowledge of her; now, memories 

 of its owner's worth are mirrors in which the face is 

 perfect. 



To stuff young children's brains with answers to 

 questions they have not asked is the surest way 

 to choke their innate desire for knowledge. The 

 growth of their imaginations should have the freest 

 scope and only be guided by helpful answers until 

 they have sorted and given a place to the many 

 w^ondrous things the}- have to see. My father, who 

 loved children, horses, dogs, and foxes, never tired 

 of my questionings, and lived to be eighty-five to 

 answer them, so I learned from him about the birds 

 that com.e to herald in the seasons, and that the 

 world is round and has a variety of climates : that 

 those parts marked red upon the map belong to 

 England, and that the best parts of the earth will 

 always belong to those who can take and hold them : 

 that ever}^ animal, including fish and birds, has to 

 fight to hold its own because Envy stalks in every 

 shape thirsting to be possessed of what belongs to 

 others : that the trout v/e tried to catch so often had 

 to fi-ght to remain behind the stone which enabled 

 it to feed so comfortably, and that even the cow which 

 has the head position fought for it and must be pre- 

 pared to fight all comers or down she goes. The 

 proudest strutter in the yard walks Hke that because 



