ed
by the following: The child sees an ox at the slaughter-house and
says _mumu_ (moo-moo); I add "todt" (dead); thereupon comes the
response _mumu todt_, and after a pause the child says, of his own
accord, _lachtett_ (_geschlachtet_, slaughtered); then _Blut heraus_
(blood out). The beginning of self-control is perceived in this,
that the child often recollects, of himself, the strict commands he
has received to refrain from this and that. Thus, he had been
accustomed to strike members of the family in fun, and this had been
forbidden him. Now, when the inclination seizes him still to strike,
he says emphatically _nicht lagen_ (_schlagen_,--not strike), _Axel
brav_ (good). In general the child names himself only by his name,
which he also tells to strangers without being asked. His parents,
and these alone, are mostly named _Papa_ and _Mama_, but often also
by their names.

The following is a proof of independent thinking while the understanding
of language is still imperfect: At breakfast I say, "Axel is
breakfasting with papa, is he not (_nicht wahr_)?" He replies
earnestly, with genuine child-logic, _doch wahr_ (but he _is_)!

The earlier appellation _swer_ and _wer_ (schwer--heavy) for muede
(tired) is preserved. This transference, like the other one, _locotiwe
wassa trinkt_, when the engine is supplied with water, is the
intellectual peculium of the child. The number of such childish
conceptions has now become very large. On the other hand, the words
independently formed out of what has been heard are not numerous:

_beisst_ for gebissen (bitten),
_reit_ " geritten (ridden),
_esst_ " gegessen (eaten),
_wesen_ " gewesen (been),
_austrinkt_ " ausgetrunken (drunk up),
_tschulter_ " Schulter (shoulder),

must be considered as mutilations, not as new formations. The great
number of words correctly pronounced and used continues, on the other
hand, to increase. There are even decided attempts to use single
_prepositions_: _Nepfe_ (Knoepfe) _fuer Mama_ (buttons for mamma) may be
simple repetition, like _Axel mit Papa_; but as utterances of this kind
were not formerly repeated by him, though just as often made in his
hearing, the understanding of the "fuer" and "mit" must now be awakened.
From this time forth the understanding of several prepositions and the
correct use of them abide. In addition there come into this period the
first applications of the