Jul 9, 2015
The Lesson of Obedience
Come hither, you madcap darling!” I said to my four-year-old,
“I say, what shall be done to the naughty girl who will not do as she’s told?”
So I told her how Casabianca on the burning ship stood brave,
Of the boy who would not disobey, even his life to save.
Then her eyes grew bright as the morning, and they seemed to look me through;
Ah, ha! thought I, you understand the lesson I have in view.
“Now, what do you think of this lad, my love? Tell me all that’s in your heart.”
“I fink,” she said, “he was dredful good, but he wasn’t the least bit smart.”
—Emma Dunning Banks, Original Recitations with Lesson-Talks (1908)