HURTING A GOOD FRIEND
This is the story of a boy who ruined a good book. A good book is always a good friend.
He did not mean to—oh, no! But what of that—he did it, as you may read.
His name was Max Green. One day Max borrowed a book from Tom Brown, a fine new book with a picture of a submarine on the cover. Tom had just received it as a birthday present from his uncle.
That night Max sat down in a corner to read it. Soon he came to the place where the submarine was getting ready to fire a torpedo.
“Squeak!” went the book, as Max gave it a twist in his excitement. He did not hear the sound; he only saw the torpedo skimming through the water.
“Crack!” went the book, as Max gave it a heavier twist. He did not notice that he was bending the covers farther back. He only knew that the torpedo was striking the bow of a big man-of-war.
“Rip!” went the book down the middle, as Max gave it a harder twist with his hand.