LESSONS FOR THE MONTH. OPENING EXERCISES. Song, God's care of all things. Father, thou who carest, To thee, we little children, Our loving thanks would bring, For all thy loving kindness, Of all thy goodness sing. -Song Stories, by Hill, page 16. To be repeated after the teacher. Children, grateful for our meeting, We are all safe in His keeping, Through the long night while we're sleeping, Song, Little Lispers.-S. S. Hymn Book, page 161. Suggestive Talks. Suggestive Talks. Teachers' Reading. Matt. 7: 24-29. Luke 6: 47-49. 1. I will tell you one of the parables or stories that Jesus told to the people. It was something like this: There were two men who were going to build houses. The first thing to do was to find a good place on which to build. One of the men found a place where there was a strong rock. He looked at it carefully to see that it was firm and solid. "Now," he said, "this will make a good foundation, I can put my bricks and mortar on it and they will be safe." So he built his walls, put on his roof and finished his house. The other man found a place that was all sand and he said, "This is a nice smooth place, I will build my house here." So the walls of this house rested on the sand, the roof was put on and now both houses were finished. By and by a great storm arose, the winds blew, and the rain came down so fast that the ground was soaking wet. It seemed as if the two new houses must surely fall. But the house on the rock never moved, it did not even shake. Most of our houses have foundations of rock. But when the wind blew at the other house and the rain poured on it, what do you think happened? The rain kept washing away the sand, until, when the wind blew a hard puff, down fell the house. Who do you think was the best builder? Why? 2. Teacher's reading. Matt. 25: 14―30. ་ Now we will read the story from the Bible; this is just what Jesus said. When the story was finished, He said, "Anyone who hears what to do, and then goes and does it, is a wise man; he who hears and doesn't do, is a foolish man." : I will tell you about some other people and you must listen and then tell me which you think did the best work. There was once a man who went on a long journey, before he started, he left three people to take care of his goods, for he had a great many things. The first one of these three had a large piece of ground to take care of. The second one had a smaller piece of ground, just half as big, to take care of, and the third had a still smaller piece. Each was to do the very best he could for his master while he was gone. So the first of the three servants went to work, plowed and dug the ground, and kept the earth good. By and by the spring time came, and he planted seed. The flowers and vegetables grew up, and these he sold for his master, and gained a great deal. The second servant did just the same; but the third-what do you suppose he did? He didn't go to work at all, even with his little piece, but just covered over the grounds so that nobody could touch it. When the man came back, which do you think he thought had done the best work-the first two, or the last one? 3. Teacher's reading. Luke 16: 19-31. Life of Christ, Farrar, chapter 44. Once there lived a very rich man, who had a beautiful home and many servants to help. He wore the very finest kind of clothing, and every time the people who lived with the rich man sat down to eat with him, it was just like being at a grand dinner party. There were poor people who lived near to this beautiful house and they wished they might have some of the good things, but nobody ever gave them any. One of these poor people was very ill, his body was all covered with sores, he was so weak and feeble that he lay down near the rich man's gate and begged to have some of the food that was left over. The dogs who played in the rich man's garden were sorry for the poor man and came and licked his sores, but the rich man had no time for anything but pleasing himself. By and by the rich man and the poor man were both dead, and the poor man went to heaven where he was made welcome and he never was hungry or sick any more. When the rich man tried to go where the poor man was he was told that now he must do without the good things, because he had forgotten to be kind to those who were poor. 4. Teacher's reading. Luke 15: 11-32. Life of Christ, Farrar, chapter 31. "Father, father, I am not good enough to be called your son, I have done so many wrong things, I cannot ask you to forgive me, but let me live in your home again and I will be glad to be your servant." This is what a boy said to his father. Now what do you think he had done to make him so unhappy? Listen, and I will tell you. There were two brothers and their father had promised to give them equal shares of land and horses and cows and everything necessary to help them when they should be men and need homes of their own. The youngest son did not want to wait so he said to his father: "Give me my share now, so I can do just my own way, I don't want to stay here any longer with you and brother, I want to go out and see the world.” The father was sorry, he thought about it very carefully and decided that perhaps it would be better to let his youngest son have his own way, because if he should say, no, the boy would be unhappy and blame him. So he gave the boy his share. Very soon after the younger son said good bye to his home and with his riches started into the world. He met other people who were foolish like himself, who helped to spend his money and when it was all gone they left him and he knew then that it was not himself they loved but what he could give them. Now he was poor and if he had anything to eat or a place to live in he must work and work hard to get it. By and by he got so poor that he was glad to take care of some pigs for a man and he was so hungry that he would eat some of the food that was thrown out for the pigs. One day when he was feeling very unhappy and miserable he thought about his home and his good, kind father, and now he knew how foolish he had been to leave them and think that there were better things to do than to stay home and obey his father. "Why," he said to himself, "the servants who work for my father are a great deal better off than I am. I will go back and ask if I cannot be a servant, because I have been too wicked to be a son any more." So poor, weary and in rags he went back home. When his father saw him coming he was very happy. This was just what he hoped would happen and when his boy fell at his feet and expressed his sorrow, the father put his arms around him and kissed him. There was great rejoicing in that home, soon the young son had nice clean clothes on and good food was given to him to eat. He was a very happy boy and I am sure he would never want to leave his home again. EXERCISES. There are many imitation exercises which may be executed without music, occupying but a few moments of time and tending to arouse the children to a healthy state of activity. A STORM. The teacher says, "A calm." The children instantly become perfectly quiet and motionless. A breeze. The children make a rustling sound with the hands, and a slight hissing sound through the teeth like the soft wind through the leaves. A gale. -A rustling sound with the hands, and a loud hissing noise through the teeth like the wind whistling through the trees. A storm.-The gale is continued with the additional exercise of shoving (not raising) the feet on the floor. A calm.-All are instantly quiet and motionless. For a little discipline in changing quickly from one exercise to another it is sometimes advisable to give the signal "a calm" between each of the above exercises. PLANING. Place the hands in position for holding a plane and move them forcibly to the left and return, also imitate the sound heard while planing. SAWING. Bend the body slightly and move the hands and arms up and down with force. Also make a hissing sound through the teeth to imitate the sound heard while sawing. CARS AND LOCOMOTIVE. Strike the hands on the knees and make the rumbling sound of the cars with the feet and the sound of the locomotive with the mouth. HANS' VISIT TO THE GNOMES. Once upon a time there was a little boy called Hans, who became angry one day because his mother asked him to bring her some wood for her kitchen fire. He obeyed her, but grumbled all the time and then wandered discontentedly off in the woods, wishing there were no such things as wood piles or kitchen fires. He never once thought how thankful he should be that there was plenty of wood to be brought, nor how many good things that same kitchen fire had cooked for him, for he was angry, you know, and little folks, like grown people, do not like to think of pleasant things when their hearts are full of anger and discontent. At last he threw himself down under a tree and fell to idly imagining all sorts of queer shapes in the old dry sticks and stumps that lay scattered all over the woods. All at once his attention was taken by what he had thought was a gray, knotty stick lying on the ground near him. Surely he saw it move. Going cautiously up to it he found to his great astonishment that it was a little old man dressed in gray, who was lying flat on the ground, with his ear pressed close to the earth. He looked up as the boy approached and nodded with a friendly grin. Hans was a little frightened at first, but seeing the manikin in so friendly a mood ventured to ask him to what he was listening so profoundly. The creature grinned again and |