Keep-Well Stories for Little Folks

by May Farinholt Jones

Then came the battle, and the Roman general found it wasn't so funny after all. For the boy did conquer him and he ran away. Afterwards the Franks gained the country for themselves and called it their own name, France.

I believe in boys. I think they can do almost anything. I believe in girls, too, just as much. The girls did not fight in this battle I have been telling you about, but there is another and better kind of battle in which boys and girls fight side by side.

The old kind of battle in which men were killed, and little children lost their fathers, was very bad and very sad, at the best. In the new kind of battle people don't kill each other, and yet they fight very hard against their enemies and have to be very brave.

Let me tell you about a few of these battles. One that is going on now is the battle against Disease. Very likely you have heard the grown folks talk about consumption, and saying that it is one of the worst enemies of our American people, and kills thousands and thousands every year. Men and women and boys and girls are joining together to fight against consumption and make an end to it, and a big fight it is. Then, again, in the struggle with yellow fever some of our noble American heroes willingly laid down their lives.

Another great battle is against Dirt. Dirt causes people to get sick and die, and since we have known this we have been fighting hard against it. The boys and girls have helped a great deal in this battle.

One of the finest fights to be in is the battle against Tobacco. What do you think? Could the boys and girls defeat the use of tobacco and drive it out of the country if they tried hard enough? I really believe they could.

But, perhaps, you have not all made up your minds that it would be a good thing to fight tobacco. Let us think of some of the reasons why we should fight it.

Reason Number One is because the tobacco habit is a dirty habit. Are the lips of the smoking boy nice and clean for mother to kiss? What about his hands? Isn't he ashamed of that yellow stain that won't come off? How much cleaner the streets, and cars, and railway stations would be if nobody used tobacco!

Reason Number Two is because tobacco injures a boy's body. It hurts his heart, causing it to beat too fast for a while and afterwards making it weak and tired. It hurts his lungs, for when he draws the smoke in he carries the poisonous nicotine to the tender and delicate air-cells. We must talk more about that at another time. It hurts his stomach and gives him indigestion, and no one knows how bad that is until he has had it for himself.