“Well, Rollo, it is about time for you to go to bed.”
“Oh, mamma,” said Rollo, “must I go now?”
“Did you know,” said his mother, “that it is wrong for you to say that?”
“Why, mother,” said Rollo, surprised.
“When I think it is time for you to go to bed, it is wrong for you to say or do any thing which shows that you are not willing to go.”
“Why, mother?”
“Because that makes it more unpleasant for you to go, and more unpleasant for me to send you. Now whenever I think that it is time for you to go, it is my duty to send you, and it is your duty to go, and we never ought to do any thing to make our duty unpleasant.”
Rollo then said nothing. He sat still a few minutes thinking.
“Do you understand it?” said his mother.
“Yes, mother,” said Rollo.