Helen: No, water puts out fire.
Mother: Here is a tester. I will pour a little whisky in it and boil it over this spirit lamp. Now the steam comes out. Percy, you may light a match and hold it close to the steam.
Percy: Oh, see it burn!
Mother: Will steam from the teakettle burn?
Amy: No, mother.
Mother: So you see the American Indians gave it a very good name when they called it “fire-water.” Another difference between water and alcohol is that water will freeze, but alcohol never freezes. I will show you one thing more. Here is some oil in this bottle. If I should pour in some water, would it mix with the oil?
Alcohol, firewater
Percy: No; the oil would stay on top.
Mother: But alcohol will mix with oil. Let us try again. Here is a fresh egg broken into a glass. If I should pour some water over it and stir them together, it would not change the looks of the egg. Instead of water, I will pour in some alcohol. Now watch the mixture as I stir them together.