their heads and don't seem hungry and look sad and sick. They are not
so big as some that hatched later. Can you tell me why? Of course you
can. You know that it is outdoor exercise and play that chickens need,
and that you need to make you grow big and strong, too. Of course, you
will have to keep your backbone straight and your chest out and your
head up; but all these things will be easy for you if you are
perfectly well and strong.

The school tries to take just as good care of your health and growth
as it can. Your lessons are short, and you change from one to another
frequently, with perhaps drills or calisthenic exercises between, so
that you need not sit still too long at a time; and the seats and
desks are of different sizes so that you need not sit at a desk that
does not fit you. When your teacher urges you to go out of doors and
play at recess time, even if you do not want to, you must think to
yourself, "It will rest me and make me grow big and straight and
strong."

When you come home from school, go out of doors and stay out just as
long as you can. Don't let dolls or toys or picture books tempt you to
stay in the house. The pictures out of doors are ever so much
prettier, as soon as you learn to see them. But some of you live in
crowded cities. I hope you are near a park or a playground, where you
can have a good romp with other children, and use the swings and
see-saws and bars, and the skating pond in winter, and the swimming
pool in summer.

[Illustration: A SKATING POND MADE OUT OF A GARDEN

The school garden is flooded in winter--a fine place to skate