in the net with his teeth, and thus set
the Lion free.

This story that I am going to tell you is of a rat--a kind of cousin to
the mouse.

In many of our cities the City Fathers have not thought much of the many
rats that live in the alleys and big warehouses, where cotton and grain
are stored.

The City Fathers, like the King of Beasts, have looked with contempt on
the little rats. They did not believe they were large enough to do any
great harm, but rats and mice are dirty little animals and can carry
disease. The Health Doctors, who are always digging into things, have
made a serious charge against Mr. Rat. They say that he is the "Carrier"
of a terrible disease, and that he is to be more feared than the biggest
lion.

The rats have brought this disease from the far-away countries in Asia.
You will ask--How could the rats bring this disease, which is called
"the plague," since they cannot swim across the ocean? No, that is true.
But you know that the rats are great wanderers, and they frequently get
on the ships which are loaded in the harbors in China, or Japan, and
travel with the ships to the next port. You must remember that rats have
fleas on them. In the far-away country the fleas bite persons who have
the plague. The fleas then get on the rats in the neighborhood, and even
give the plague to the rats.

When the ship unloads its cargo, in Mobile, San Francisco, or New York,
these rats, with their fleas and plague germs, go ashore, and in this
way they spread the disease.

When the fleas from the rats bite persons, they poison them with the
plague germs. Many persons in Asia die of this disease every year.

In this country we prevent it by doing what the Lion of long ago did not
do. We kill the rats, for they are dirty little animals.

QUESTIONS

1. Tell the story of the Lion and the Mouse. Who
wrote this fable? What is a fable?

2. Why are we not so merciful to the rat as the
Lion was?

3. What disease germs does the rat carry?

[Illustration]

FIRST AID TO THE INJURED AND THE BOY SCOUTS

"I say, Jack, what do you think; I am going to join the Boy Scouts."

"What is that, Tom? I don't know anything about Boy Scouts. Is it
something new? You are always starting some new stunt. Is it playing
soldier?"

"Oh, no, Jack; it is a company made up of boys, who are learning to be
manly and brave. Being a Boy Scout takes you out-of-doors a