The Raison d'etre of the Nose.—At a visit of one of the inspectors a "chat" had been going on with the babies about "The Elephant and its Trunk," and at the finish the H.M.I. pounced upon the accepted duffer of the class with "Now, my dear, you shall tell me what your nose is for," and was staggered with the reply, "Us haves it to wipe, sir?"
A Good Reason.—A short time ago a teacher was taking a lesson on the use of the hyphen. Having written a number of examples on the blackboard, the first of which was "bird-cage," he asked the boys to give a reason for putting the hyphen between "bird" and "cage." After a short silence one boy, who is among the dunces, held up his hand and said, "It is for the bird to perch on, sir."
Why the Kitten Died.—Visit of grandma—both four-year-old twins at once: "Grandma, Ninny's dead." Grandma, surprised and sorry, "Poor Ninny, he must have been poisoned?" Great burst of grief from both twins. Then a sudden lull from one of them. "Don't cry, Ella; don't cry so much! 'He died to save us all!'" [They had been to a children's service with the maid on Good Friday.]
Where the Snow comes from.—The other day a master visited the infant room during a snowstorm. He was curious to know what ideas the little ones had of snow, and questioned them about it. One little girl of five volunteered the information that the snow was swept out of heaven. "But how does it get into heaven?" asked the master. "Please, sir, the angels scratch it off their wings," said the tiny tot.
Bliss.—Teacher (word-building): "Quite right! L-i-s-s spells liss, and if I put 'b' in front what word do I get?" Small Boy: "Bliss." Teacher: "Yes; but that's a new word to you, and so I must tell you what it means. It means peace or happiness or comfort. Now make me a sentence containing this new word bliss." Small Boy: "My big brother had a blister on his toe."