Children - Teaching Truth : Part 1

The Mother and Her Child
by William S. Sadler, M.D., Lena K. Sadler, M.D.

(Page 40 of 45)

We confidently believe that most of the immorality seen in young people is more or less the result of ignorance and curiosity; therefore we most earnestly desire in this chapter to portray so interestingly the beautiful story of life as seen in the vegetable and animal world, that our mother-readers will be seized with the great desire wisely to convey to the young child's mind this sublime and beautiful story. The questions most naturally arising in the mind of the reader at this time are: When should we begin to tell this story? How should we tell it? Where should we begin? Where should we stop? Realizing full well that the subject is usually handled prematurely and with not preparedness, we will attempt in this chapter to discuss it with courage and candor, believing that there is a right way, a right time, and a right place to impart this information.

A Lesson from Nature

When the little folks are about three or four years of age, when confidence and trust are at their height, they often come to us begging for a "story;" and this is the golden opportunity for the parent or caretaker to tell them the story of Mr. and Mrs. Corn, and all their little babies; or Mr. and Mrs. Morning Glory and their little folks. There are a score of other equally interesting and instructive botanical stories which are just as beautiful in their sublimity, and fairy-like in their personality. The little children's eyes grow big with wonder as you tell the story of a whole township of families by the name of Corn, who have their residences out in the wide country fields.

We will first introduce the child to Mr. Corn, the tassel, waving proudly and majestically in the breezes, and seeming to say: "I am master of all I survey." The little fellow is filled with wonderment as he learns how the clouds give up their drops of water to quench his thirst and how the sun smiles upon him to yellow his beard; and how the wonderful all-important pollen is developed and ripened.

Often the child eagerly asks, "And where, mamma, is Mrs. Corn?" and to that interested upturned face we relate the pleasing story of the beautiful silken tresses of Mother Corn. Early in her life she is a beautiful shade of green, and as she therefore gracefully hangs out from the ear of corn, day by day the smiles of sunshine turn this mother corn to brown, and then to a still darker shade.

"And where, mamma, are the babies?" the child next inquires; and, as we take the ear of corn, removing the outer clothing - the husks - we find the underclothing, a much lighter shade of green, and here now we are in close contact with the babies themselves - the kernels - and to each little kernel or baby corn we find mamma closely clinging. Here is a beautiful opportunity to teach mother-love and mother watchfulness, as also the opportunity to draw lessons from the baby kernels sitting there in even rows, with their faces clean, silently contented - just doing their duty. The stories that may be told are limitless, and possibly as interesting as are the myths and fairy-tales, yet all the while as true as truth itself, with no fakery, no legends - just simple truth.

The all Important Pollen

Now on a second trip into the cornfield, another story may be told of the important work of the pollen. This "father part" of the plant falls upon the silken tresses of the "mother part," by which the pollen is carried down to the sleeping corn-baby seeds - the kernels. And when the "corn dust" does reach the sleeping seeds a great change begins to take place. This change is known to the adult as "impregnation;" to the little child it may be presented as "an awakening" of the sleeping seeds, so that they begin to grow, to develop, to expand and push out, until we have the full-grown seeds seen in the delicious and juicy roasting ear.

Sometimes, in the case of the larger plants and trees, Father Tree may be miles and miles away from Mother Tree and so this all important pollen must be carried by the wind or by the bees, and as it blows against the mother part of the plant-flower she catches it and pushes it downward to the seed babies. The wind scatters the pollen of the oak tree, the hazelnut, the walnut, the birch, the willow and many others; for, without the good kind wind or the bees, the pollen would never find its way to many a mother flower, and the "fertilization" of the seed could not take place.

The Morning Glory Family

Perhaps the story of life can be told as beautifully from the morning-glory as from any other flower. Here the beautiful flower cup is the home of Father and Mother Morning-Glory and all their little babies.

As we carefully take away their little home, the flower cup, we have left a little green cup, and coming up from the center you will see five little stems, every one of them wearing a hat of powder or pollen and this - if you please - is Papa Morning-Glory. Look closely and you will see coming up from the center of these five stems (stamens) one central stalk without a hat, Mother Morning-Glory, known in botany as the "pistil"; and as you follow down this pistil you will find an enlarged part at the base, which is known as the cradle-nest - the home of the seed babies.

Little was known about this wonderful fertilization of the seeds by the pollen two hundred years ago, and a whole century passed before the secret of the blossom and the bees was discovered; and even then it was not fully realized how great was the work of the bees in cross-fertilization. Nor was it understood that the beautiful blossom of the flower, with its sweet nectar, was an exceedingly important factor in attracting the bees. Another century passed before Darwin gave to the world the story of the great work performed by the bees in cross-fertilization - in carrying the pollen from flower to flower, for it is now a well-known fact that all of the blossoms visited by the bees produce better fruit and better flowers.

In the flower where the father and mother part matures at the same time, self-fertilization is the rule. Cross-fertilization occurs in instances where either the father part or mother part ripen at different times, in these cases the pollen is carried from plant to plant by the wind or by the nectar-seeking bees. These busy bees, with their fluffy little feet and fuzzy coats, become completely covered with this all-important flower dust, and in seeking nectar from other flowers they leave the "awakening dust" behind, and therefore cross-fertilization takes place; new types of babies are produced, new generations of fruits and flowers.

About the Author

Dr. William S. Sadler M.D. was a well-known American psychiatrist and college teacher in the school of medicine at the University of Chicago. For over sixty years he practiced his profession in Chicago, thirty-three years being associated in practice with his wife, Dr Lena Kellogg Sadler. The doctors were pioneers in the research on the mysterious Urantia Papers.