SCOUTING FOR GIRLS 
9 
may save thousands of lives when the great crisis comes, 
and turn defeat into victory. 
A good Scout must obey instantly, just as a good 
soldier must obey his officer, or a good citizen must 
obey the laws, with no question and no grumbling. If 
she considers any order unjust or unreasonable, let her 
make complaint through the proper channels, and she 
may be sure that if she goes about it properly she will 
receive attention. But she must remember to obey first 
and complain afterward . 
VIII. A Girl Scout Is Cheerful 
This means that no matter how courteous or obedient 
or helpful you try to be, if you are sad or depressed 
about it nobody will thank you very much for your 
efforts. A laughing face is usually a loved face, and 
nobody likes to work with a gloomy person. Cheerful 
music, cheerful plays and cheerful books have always 
been the world’s favorites; and a jolly, good-natured 
girl will find more friends and more openings in the 
world than a sulky beauty or a gloomy genius. 
It has been scientifically proved that if you deliberately 
make your voice and face cheerful and bright you im- 
mediately begin to feel that way ; and as cheerfulness is 
one of the most certain signs of good health, a Scout 
who appears cheerful is far more likely to keep well 
than one who lets herself get “down in the mouth.” 
There is so much real, unavoidable suffering and sorrow 
in the world that nobody has any right to add to them 
unnecessarily, and “as cheerful as a Girl Scout” ought 
to become a proverb. 
IX. A Girl Scout Is Thrifty 
This means that a Girl Scout is a girl who is wise 
enough to know the value of things and to put them to 
