The Geography Trap

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 19, 1882

The Geography Trap.

“ALWAYS be honest, boys,” said Uncle Nathan to the youngsters. “Don’t ever try to cheat at play, at work, or at lessons. I remember well how I tried to cheat my teacher once, and how I came to grief in consequence.

“We had a new teacher that term, a Miss Mason; and we were all delighted with the way she heard us recite in geography the first day. No passing the question around the class by turn, but all answered in concert. You know it is such fun to school boys and girls to be allowed to make some kind of a noise, and we made the old school-house ring.

“It was just the same the next day, and the next. There was a large class of us, and we considered that recitation prime fun.

“The fourth day of school came, and as I drew out the geography from my desk to prepare my lesson, something seemed to whisper to me: ‘What’s the use of your taking so much pains to learn your lesson, when the class all answers together? Who is going to notice if your voice isn’t among the rest? You can pick up enough from what you know of geography, and what the rest answer, to put in an occasional word, and it will do just as well.’

“I suspect that imp of mischief went about and whispered the same in the ears of the rest of the class; and you may conclude so, too, before my story is done. I am ashamed to tell you, boys, that I listened to the evil suggestion, and spent the time drawing pictures on my slate, and arranging a jack-knife trade with Ned White, that should have been given to my geography lesson. And withal the geography was a new one that term, and not one of the class had ever studied it before.

“‘First class in geography!’ called Miss Mason that afternoon, and just then there was a knock at the door. She answered it as we were taking our seats, and ushered in the minister and his wife, a committee-man and his wife, my two grown-up sisters, and last, but most important of all to me, my cousin Nathan, for whom I was named, and for whose good opinion I cared more than for almost any other person’s. He always had such a pleasant way of rewarding me when I did well, and such a way, too, of making me feel his displeasure when I was in the wrong. At that moment, I would have given everything I possessed in the world for the knowledge of my lesson, but it was too late to wish for what I might have had so easily. It seemed to me I felt small and mean enough to crawl into a knot-hole!

“‘You may recite in concert,’ said Miss Mason. ‘What peninsulas on the Arctic Coast?’

“‘Boothia and Melville,’ piped up a small girl, the very least and most diffident of the whole class, while the rest of us sat dumb as statues, but redder in the face.

“‘In concert!’ said Miss Mason. ‘What ones on the Atlantic Coast?’

Again, the small girl answered alone.

“‘Once more; and this time decidedly in concert,’ said Miss Mason, emphatically. ‘What ones on the Pacific Coast?’

“For the third time, Susie answered alone.

“‘You will now answer by turns, since you cannot seem to answer in concert,’ said Miss Mason; and three more questions went around the class, each to be finally answered by Susie.

“Miss Mason laid the geography down on the desk, with a peculiar smile on her face. ‘Those of the class who have learned their lesson for to-day, will please raise their right hands.’

“Up went one little hand. Susie’s, of course.

“Miss Mason looked amused enough to see how the rest of us had walked into her trap.

“‘Perhaps you thought,’ she said, ‘that because I heard you answer in concert heretofore, I should always do the same; but that is quite uncertain. I shall never tell you beforehand how you will answer, so the only safe way is to prepare your lesson. Now, I will tell you a little story; and then I will hear Susie recite the rest of her lesson, while the others take their seats and prepare to recite after school.

“‘Once upon a time, the whole world agreed to meet and shout all at once, to see what a great noise it would make. But when they were met, it seemed each one thought his voice could make no difference in such a crowd, so he would only listen to the rest. All thought so except one old lady, who went to do her duty, and had no thought of shirking it. So when the signal was given for them to shout, all that was heard was one old lady squealing “Boo!” at the top of her voice. ‘Moral: Each do your duty, and the shout will come.’

“A shamefaced crew, we went to our seats and into our geographies. Oh, dear! how humiliating it was, before visitors, to see the rest of the school dismissed, while we remained; but you may be sure we did not need the punishment again.

“So I charge you once more, my boys, ‘Always and everywhere, Be honest and fair.’” —Christian Weekly.