3. To obey the scout law.
You learn the scout sign of the scouts (see page [40]), and also the call of your patrol (see page [45]).
Every patrol is named after some animal, and each scout in it has to be able to make the cry of that animal in order to communicate with his pals, especially at night. Thus you may be "the Wolves," "the Curlews," "the Eagles," or "the Rats" if you like. No scout may ever use the call of another patrol. The second law binds you to be loyal, kind, obedient, and cheerful. Most of your work then consists in playing scouting games and practices by which you gain experience as scouts. When you have learned sufficient to pass the test you can win the badge of either a first class or second class scout.
That of the first class scout consists of a brass arrow head with the motto on it "Be Prepared."
That of the second class scout is merely the motto without the arrow head.
The meaning of the motto is that a scout must prepare himself by previous thinking out and practising how to act on any accident or emergency so that he is never taken by surprise; he knows exactly what to do when anything unexpected happens.
The following subjects are what you have to know about to pass the test as a scout:—
Woodcraft means knowing all about animals, which is gained by following up their foot-tracks and creeping up to them so that you can watch them in their natural state, and learn the different kinds of animals and their various habits. You only shoot them if in want of food; but no scout wilfully kills an animal for the mere sake of killing, unless it is a harmful creature.
A good story is told of a soldier in the South African War who killed a harmless animal, namely a sheep, when the order had been given out that nobody was to kill any animal except a "savage wild beast."
But the soldier wanted some mutton, and he found a sheep round at the back of a house; so he started to make it into mutton with his bayonet. Just as he was doing so an officer happened to come round the corner. The soldier saw the danger that he was in for disobeying the order, but he did not lose his head. Pretending not to see the officer, he again plunged his bayonet into the wretched sheep, shouting at the same time, "Ah, you would bite me, would you? You 'savage wild beast'!"