CHAPTER X 



AN OUTDOOR LESSON 



HAVE had many a person ask me, " What 

 is the best way to learn about the out of "\ 

 doors ? " and I always answer, " Don't try }^. 

 to learn about it, but first go out of the 

 house and get into the out of doors. Then _, 

 open both eyes, use both of your ears, and 

 stand in one place stock still as long as 

 you can ; and you will soon know the out of doors . 

 itself, which is better than knowing about it." 



" But," says my learner, " if I go out of the house, 

 I don't get into the out of doors at all, but into a 

 city street ! " 



Look there in the middle of the street! What 

 is it? An English sparrow ? Yes, an English sparrow , 

 six English sparrows. Are they not a part of the 

 out of doors ? And look up there, over your head 

 a strip of sky ? Yes is not a strip of blue sky a part 

 of the out of doors? 



Now let me tell you how I learned an outdoor 

 lesson one night along a crowded city street. 



It was a cold, wet night ; and the thick, foggy 

 twilight, settling down into the narrow streets, was 

 full of smoke and smell and chill. A raw wind blew 

 in from the sea and sent a shiver past every corner. 



