Love Letters 
It was very interesting to watch the conflict 
between light and darkness in the minds of these 
Yoruban children, for they still believed in many 
of the superstitions of their parents long after 
these superstitions ceased to wield any evil 
power over them. One night, I heard the girls 
jeering at a “ witch-bird ” which was croaking 
near their dormitory and shouting to the innocent 
little offender, “ Go along, you old witch-bird. 
We are not afraid of you now. We trust in the 
white man’s God.” It was plain that, while they 
were no longer afraid of it as they had been in 
the past, they still suspected that it was a real 
witch or evil spirit. 
The smaller children were sometimes prone to 
pervert our teaching to suit their convenience. 
Two little boys found themselves greatly tempted 
to steal and eat a roasted chicken. One of them 
declared that it would be a sin to do so, but the 
other pleaded that the white man’s God was 
very merciful and that they would eat the chicken 
and pray a great deal and God would forgive 
them. This argument prevailed and they ate the 
chicken. When it was traced to them, they 
made a “clean breast” of the whole matter. 
The presence of so many children full of life 
and fun, generally made things about the mis- 
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