_just_. And to this end it is essential that we take into
consideration all the circumstances that lead to a lie, including
the motives, as well as the special traits of the particular child.

The first thing that we should keep always in mind is that the moral
character of the child is still unformed, and that his standards of
truth, like his other standards, are not the same as those of the
adult. Indeed, this fact is at the same time the hope of childhood
and the source of its many tragedies. It is the hope because the
child is _growing_, and acquiring new vision and new powers;
the child of to-day is the adult of to-morrow, and most of the
children of to-day will be at least as developed, in time, as the
adults of to-day. The tragedy arises from the fact that as we grow
older we forget the outlook of the child, and misunderstandings
between the parents and the children are almost inevitable.

Whatever the prevailing morality of a community may demand, the fact
remains that practically all children up to a certain age consider
it perfectly legitimate to lie to their enemies if they but tell the
truth to their friends. Children may lie to the policeman, or to the
teacher, or to anyone with whom they are for the moment in conflict.
This is a relic of the time when our savage ancestors found it
necessary to practice deceit in order to save themselves from their
enemies. So ingrained is this instinct that many a child will stick
to a falsehood before the teacher or other inquisitors, only to
retract and "go to pieces" when obliged to answer his mother. It has
been shown over and over again that children even well along in the
teens consider it quite right to tell one story to a teacher or to
another child who is disliked, and a different story to one that is
liked. This attitude probably arises not so much from a desire to