CHILDHOOD
Various
45. First a daughter, then a son,
The world is well begun.
First a son, then a daughter,
Trouble follows after.
Maine and Massachusetts.
46. First a son, then a daughter,
...
Asseveration
60. A child to whom is told any story which he considers remarkable will
usually reply by an expression of skepticism, such as: Really and
truly? Honestly? Earnest, now? or, You are fooling. The first
speaker answe...
Challenge
To stump another boy to do a thing is considered as putting a certain
obligation on him to perform the action indicated. The phrase is
sometimes used, although the person giving the stump may not himself be
able to...
Fortune
76. Put a mark upon a paper for every bow you get, and when you have one
hundred bury the paper and wish. When the paper is decayed you will find
your wish in its place.
Cambridge and Bedford, Mass.
77...
Friendship
79. If two persons, while walking, divide so as to pass an obstruction
one on one side and one on the other, they will quarrel. Children avert
this catastrophe by exclaiming, bread and butter, which is a counter
ch...
Mythology
81. The stars are angels' eyes.
Westminster, Mass.
82. The stars are holes made in the sky, so that the light of heaven
shines through. I remember, as a child, that this idea was suggested to
me on see...
Punishment
89. An eyewinker placed in the palm of the hand will cause the ferule
to break when the teacher strikes the palm with it.
Portsmouth, N.H.
90. Pine tar or pitch in the hand will prevent the blows of the...
Sport
91. At croquet, if your ball was about to be sent flying, the safeguard
was to draw an imaginary X with your mallet, saying, Criss cross. It
made your enemy's foot slip, and many a girl would get mad and not
play, ...
Informational
