8. "Why, mother, how can that be?" said Robert. "Did you
never hear an echo?" asked his mother. "An echo, dear
mother? No, ma'am. What is it?"
9. "I will tell you," said his mother. "You know, when you
play with your ball,

THIRD READER. 85
and throw it against the side of a house, it bounds back to
you." "Yes, mother," said he, "and I catch it again."
10. "Well," said his mother, "if I were in the open air, by
the side of a hill or a large barn, and should speak very loud,
my voice would be sent back, so that I could hear again the
very words which I spoke.
11. "That, my son, is an echo. When you thought some
one was mocking you, it was only the hill before you,
echoing, or sending back, your own voice.
12. "The bad boy, as you thought it was, spoke no more
angrily than yourself. If you had spoken kindly, you would
have heard a kind reply.
13. "Had you spoken in a low, sweet, gentle tone, the
voice that came back would have been as low, sweet, and
gentle as your own.
14. "The Bible says, 'A soft answer turneth away wrath.'
Remember this when you are at play with your school mates.
15. "If any of them should be offended, and speak in a
loud, angry tone, remember the echo, and let your words be
soft and kind."

86 ECLECTIC SERIES.
16. "When you come home from school, and find your