where do you think you could have come from? Everything that grows
comes from its mamma--oranges, apples, radishes, cabbages, cats,
dogs, and chickies--everything that grows has to have a mamma and
papa," and they are often satisfied with this answer for a long time.
No child should go to kindergarten without knowing that he came from
his mother, and this knowledge should come to him from his own
mother's lips. These are different days than those in which our
grandmothers lived. The spirit of investigation and of inquiry is in
the air. The moving-picture show makes it necessary for children of
nine or ten to understand these things--to have a knowledge of certain
of the conventionalities of life. Twenty years ago this may not have
been so necessary--the youth of that day might have waited several
years longer for certain phases of his sex instruction. It is highly
important that this knowledge be obtained from a wise and pure and
sympathetic mind--from the child's own parents.

One mother put her little girl's questions off week after week,
saying: "I will tell you when you get older, dear--no, not now, dear;
run away, you are not old enough to know such things, you must forget
about them." Thus the unprepared mother sought to gain time in which
to consult the doctor or the library. Finally the day came when the
mother felt that she was sufficiently wise to answer the query, "Where
did I come from," and so with her heart in her throat she approached
her daughter, saying: "Come, Mary, mother is going to tell you all
about it. I am now ready to answer your question." Imagine her
surprise and astonishment when Mary said: "Oh, you needn't mind,
mother, Kate told me all about it last week." Now the question in my
mind is: how did Kate tell her? How much unnecessary information did
this older and experienced Kate put into the pure mind of this
innocent little girl?

ONE MOTHER'S AWAKENING

One mother in a western state--a county superintendent of
schools--told us the following interesting story of her own
experience, which we think may be of help to some of our mother
readers.

One morning her seven-year old son rushed into the house exclaiming:
"Oh, mother, there is a new calf out in the barn, and I know where it
came from; I saw a wagon load of calves come by here yesterday, and
one of them must have dropped off, for it is right out there in the
barn with old Bess this minute."

The mother was very busy with her pa