Part 39

MINNIE AND HER CANARY.

MINNIE’S REBUKE.

“You were a naughty bird to-day; It shocked me, do you know, To see you fly from brother Frank, And pick at cousin Joe.

“Now tell me why you acted so; There, don’t begin to sing, But tell me why you were so rude, You saucy little thing!”

THE BIRD’S REPLY.

“I had to leave your brother Frank, Or else to stay and choke; He had a nasty cigarette; I could not stand the smoke.

“And with your cousin Joe--oh, dear! He put his mouth to mine, And, oh! I thought I’d faint away, For he’d been drinking wine.

“The little birds don’t do such things; No crow, or paroquet, Or other bird, would swallow wine Or smoke a cigarette.”

A CRUEL MURDERER

MOTHER: Bad as it is to steal, it is worse to kill. Dreadful as it may seem, yet it is true that a murderer watches to get into the body-house; and unless it is kept out, sooner or later it will ruin the house and kill the master. It has different names, but the most common are Cider, Beer, Wine, Ale, Brandy, and Whisky; but its real name is Alcohol. I have some here in this bottle.

ELMER: Why, it looks like clear water!

MOTHER: So it does. Let us see if we can find out how it is different from water. I will pour a little into this saucer. Percy, you may light a match and hold close to it.

AMY: Oh, it burns!

MOTHER: Will water burn?

HELEN: No, water puts out fire.

MOTHER: Here is a tester. I will pour a little whisky in it and boil it over this spirit lamp. Now the steam comes out. Percy, you may light a match and hold it close to the steam.

PERCY: Oh, see it burn!

MOTHER: Will steam from the teakettle burn?

AMY: No, mother.

MOTHER: So you see the American Indians gave it a very good name when they called it “fire-water.” Another difference between water and alcohol is that water will freeze, but alcohol never freezes. I will show you one thing more. Here is some oil in this bottle. If I should pour in some water, would it mix with the oil?

PERCY: No; the oil would stay on top.

MOTHER: But alcohol will mix with oil. Let us try again. Here is a fresh egg broken into a glass. If I should pour some water over it and stir them together, it would not change the looks of the egg. Instead of water, I will pour in some alcohol. Now watch the mixture as I stir them together.

ELMER: Why, the egg looks as though it were cooked! It is getting hard.

MOTHER: Yes, and if I should put a little piece of lean meat in alcohol, it also would become hard. Now the reason that the egg or a piece of meat becomes hard is because alcohol has such a liking for water that it draws the water out, leaving the egg or meat hard and dry. Alcohol does the very same thing in our bodies; that is, it takes up the moisture in the nerves, muscles, and other parts; and I think that must be why it creates such a terrible thirst, which can not be satisfied. The poor man who drinks, thinks that he wants more alcohol, when it is really for water, water, that every part of his body is calling. I think you already see that alcohol is so different from water, the drink that God made for man, that it was never intended that we should drink it.

PERCY: But how is alcohol made?

MOTHER: Alcohol comes from death. Something must decay and die to produce it. We do not find it in wheat or any other grain. Peaches, plums, pears, apples, and grapes say, “It is not in me,” yet it can be made from all of them. Do you remember when I was canning fruit how I put it boiling hot into glass jars, and put the cover on as quickly as I could, to keep the air out?

HELEN: But why did you do that?

MOTHER: Because there are little germs, or “ferments,” in the air, and if they should get into the fruit, it would decay, ferment. I once had a jar of fruit spoil, and before I noticed it, it had turned to wine. In wine and cider the ferments are not shut out, and they make it “work,” ferment, or turn to alcohol.