Volume 2 — The Mouth.

The mouth was made to eat and speak with. It is therefore a pretty convenient and useful thing, and we could not well do without it.

But the mouth, like almost everything else, needs to be taken care of. Sometimes the mouth will pout, and make a child look very disagreeable.

Sometimes the mouth will eat very fast, and get too much in at a time. Don’t let your mouth do any such things as these!

I forgot to tell you another very curious thing about the mouth, and that is, that it laughs! I believe dogs, and cats, and pigs, and hens, and geese, never laugh; but children laugh, and old people too, sometimes.

It is well enough to laugh, at proper times. I love to see children laugh in their play. I love to see them laugh when I tell a funny story.

But I never like to see any one laugh at the misfortune of another. Tell me, little reader, did your mouth ever laugh at another child because he was poor? or because he was poorly dressed? or because he fell down and hurt himself? or because he happened to know less than you do?

If your mouth has ever done any of these naughty things, I pray you, little reader, teach your mouth better manners.