i have made it a practice to answer all helens questions to the best of my ability in a way intelligible to her, and at the same time truthfully. "why should i treat these questions differently?" i asked myself. i decided that there was no reason, except my deplorable ignorance of the great facts that underlie our physical existe was no doubt because of this ignorahat i rushed in where more experienced angels fear to tread. there isnt a living soul in this part of the world to whom i go for advi this, or indeed, in any other educational difficulty. the only thing for me to do in a perplexity is to go ahead, and learn by making mistakes. but in this case i dont think i made a mistake. i took helen and my botany, "how plants grow," up iree, where we often go to read and study, and i told her in simple words the story of plantlife. i reminded her of the , beans and watermelon-seed she had planted in the spring, and told her that the tall in the garden, and the beans and watermelon vines had grown from those seeds. i explained how the earth keeps the seeds warm and moist, until the little leaves are strong enough to push themselves out into the light and air where they breathe and grow and bloom and make more seeds, from which other baby-plants shall grow. i drew an analogy between plant and animal-life, and told her that seeds are eggs as truly as hens eggs and birds eggs--that the mother hen keeps her eggs warm and dry until the little chicks e out. i made her uand that all life es from an egg. the mother bird lays her eggs in a and keeps them warm until the birdlings are hatched. the mother fish lays her eggs where she knows they will be moist and safe, until it is time for the little fish to e out. i told her that she could call the egg the cradle of life. then i told her that other animals like the dog and cow, and human beings, do not lay their eggs, but nourish their young in their own bodies. i had no difficulty in making it clear to her that if plants and animals didnt produce offspring after their kind, they would cease to exist, and everything in the world would soon die. but the fun of sex i passed over as lightly as possible. i did, however, try to give her the idea that love is the great tinuer of life. the subject was difficult, and my knowledge ie; but i am glad i didnt shirk my responsibility; for, stumbling, hesitating, and inplete as my explanation was, it touched deep responsive chords in the soul of my little pupil, and the readine
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