Show Curing Child Who Thrills To Flames That children tike like to play with matches is not difficult to understand Matches to them are arc fascinating fascinating- magic twigs whose heads when pressed against the side of the box burst into lovely silent golden flame Could anything be more absorbing Even more intriguing is it when pretty blaze spreads along a piece of paper growing rowin bigger and bigger eating eat eat- ing up the edges Then mother comes running and somebody screams creams and the fire engines arrive big and red and fast and men with funny helmets run in and out of the house Lire Life seems very dull and tame when they have gone away The child finds it it difficult to understand why mother I didn't seem to enjoy it If father had been home he surely would have been thrilled md and delighted I ISo So re reasoned little Mary Jon Jones and no punishment however vever severe could offset her delight in a home made fire Wouldn't she mind if the house burnt up Not at all it would make such a lovely big blaze and they all could go live in another house There were a lot of hous houses Told that father wouldn't have enough money to buy another house she suggested that they I could go and live with grandmother which would be nicer anyhow A Lesson for lar l Mary Nor was Mary a afraid raid the t fire re would hurt her either All you had to do was step away from it and watch and if it got too smoky you OU could run out outon outon on the lawn and watch the firemen come Fire was wao just fun It had never hurt her or destroyed anything she loved So Mr and Mrs Jones continued to live in mortal terror of having their house burnt about their ears Wherever ever they hid the matches match Mar Mary found them and set something on fire something she did not care about and that made a nice blaze Then someone had m an idea One morning after Mary had set et some sofa cushions on fire and had clapped her hands with delight when the firemen firemen fire fire- men came the thc firemen md and mother and lather father carried all Marys Mary's dolls and toys toS out to the lawn even Marys Mary's bed and set them afire then laughed and shouted at the pretty blaze they made But Mary didn't laugh lauCh- Mary cried and she never set anything on fire again Fire had become ran an enemy enemy- something to avoid It had destroyed something Mary loved To have an any real educational value for tor a child the punishment must fit the crime It must be a direct and logical r result of the deed |