"Oh, Hal's going to win!" cried some of the children who had gathered around to watch.
"No, Mab is!" shouted a number of little girls who were her friends.
"Mab will win!"
Sometimes Mab would be in the lead, and then Hal would come up with a rush and pass her.
It was not very far to the "finish line," as the end of the race is called.
"Oh, I do hope I get there first!" thought Mab, her little heart beating very fast.
"I hope I win!" thought Hal.
And that is always the way it is in races—each one wants to be first. That is very right and proper, for it is a good thing to try and be first, or best, in everything we do. Only we must do it fairly, and not be mean, or try to get in the way of anyone else. And, if we don't win, after we have done our best, why we must try and be cheerful about it. And never forget to say to the one who has come out ahead:
"Well, I am sorry I lost, but I am glad you won."
That is being polite, or, as the big folks say; when they have races, that is being "sportsman-like," and that that is the finest thing in the world—to be really "sportsman-like" at all times.
"Go on! Go on!" cried Daddy Blake. "Don't stop, children! Finish out the race!"