^^;m')- 



VIII 



A TACTFUL MOTHER 



Everywhere in the world the wisest mothers are 

 those who do all in their power to make their children 

 good. The most successful method of doing this, I 

 suppose, is to make it easier for children to be good 

 than to be bad, by removing the sources of tempta- 

 tions to naughtiness. The little mother of this story 

 has a wonderful device of this sort by which she controls 

 her naturally selfish and greedy family. 



This mother is a pretty, tiny creature, dainty enough 

 to belong to the court of a fairy queen. She has green 

 wings about a half inch in length, and all through them 

 runs a network of darker green veins. No lady ever 

 dressed for a ball in a prettier combination of gauze 

 and lace than this little creature wears every day. Her 

 slender body is also pale green, and her antennae are 

 brown ; but her greatest beauty lies in a pair of large 



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