You would not think much of a boy who was about to enter a race and,
just before he entered it, hurt his foot on purpose, so that he could
not run his best, would you? Well, that is just what every boy does who
smokes: it hinders him in the race of life. You ought not to smoke
before you are twenty-one years old, because your body is not strong
enough to stand it. The safest way is not to smoke at all, but at least
don't smoke until you get your growth.




TIRE-TROUBLE


People who own automobiles have a great deal to say about
"tire-trouble." There are a great many kinds of tire-trouble. In the
first place, a tire often gets punctured by a nail running into it. Then
there are "blow-outs" caused by the inner tube giving way. Then there
are leaky valves, by which the air slowly leaks out. There are also
sand-blisters, caused by little particles of sand getting into the tire
and making a swelling in it, which soon gives way. And finally tires may
get rim-cut, which means that the steel rim which fastens them on wears
them through by rubbing. The result of these things is what is known as
a flat tire with all the air gone out, and the automobile bumps on the
hard rim.

Boys and girls have tire-troubles, too. I have seen boys and girls get
so vexed about things that they just exploded in a burst of temper like
a blow-out in a tire. I have known them to run up against something