"Now," I said, "suppose I give you five pounds to do what you like with. Write down what you would do with it, fold the paper, and hand it in to me."
They eagerly agreed, and at the end of five minutes I had a hatful of slips. I then drew a line down the centre of the blackboard. On one side I wrote the word Selfish; on the other Unselfish. The class groaned and laughed.
"Now," I said cheerfully, "this will prove whether the class is unselfish or not," and I unfolded the first slip.
"But you'll say we are selfish!" said a boy.
"I have nothing to do with it," I said; "you are to decide by vote.
First person . . . 'I would buy a bicycle': selfish or unselfish?"
"Selfish!" roared the class, and I put a mark in the first column.
"Next paper . . . 'Scooter, knife, and the rest on ice-cream.'"
"Selfish!" and I put down another mark.
"Next: . . . 'Buy a pair of boots' . . . selfish or unselfish?"
The class had to stop and think here.