By Munro Leaf
Having good manners is really just living with other people pleasantly.
If you lived all by ourselves out on a desert island, others would not care
whether you had good manners or not.
It would not bother them.
But if someone else lived there with you,
you would both have to learn to get along together pleasantly.
If you did not, you would probably quarrel and fight all the time,
or stay apart and be lonesome
because you could not have a good time together.
Neither would be much fun.
Most of us do not live on desert islands,
So this is what we do - -
WE MEET PEOPLE
HOW DO YOU DO?
If I am a boy, when I meet you for the first time
then I smile and shake your hand.
If you are a lady or a girl
then I take my hat off.
HOW DO YOU DO?
If I am a girl, when I meet you for the first time
then I smile and hold out my hand to you.
I do not just stand with my mouth open
and leave you holding out your hand.
If we already know you then we say,
Good morning or Good afternoon or Good evening
Very often the people we like most live in the same house with us.
We see them so often we sometimes forget
to be as nice to them as we are to others.
Most of the time it is just because we do not think of it,
so let us see how we start the day.
We get up in the morning when we should
and we do not have to be call more than once.
We wash ourselves and brush our teeth
without fussing and making faces.
And we do not leave our cloths and towels around
for others to pick up.
When we are at the table we have a good time because
we eat what we should
and talk about pleasant things we have seen and done.
We do not have Puffy Cheeks from talking with our mouths full.
And we do not CHOKE because
we don't drink when we still have food in our mouths.
Other people like to talk to us because
we wait until they finish talking before we start.
We do not try to shout louder and butt in like goats.
If we want something we say PLEASE
We say THANK YOU if you help us
or give us something or do things for us.
Before we leave the table we ask if we may be excused.
And say THANK YOU if we are told we may.
PLAYING
When I play with other boys we take turns doing the things we want to do.
If we are playing games we follow the rules.
One of us does not always try to change things to that he will win.
We play for fun.
When I play with other girls we share our things
and take turns doing what we like to most.
We do not whine and cry or quarrel
when we don't have everything our way and go home angry.
There are some people we don't like to play with and here they are
THE PIGS
They have all sorts of toys but they never let anyone play with them.
They just squeal THAT’S MINE
This is a WHINEY
Whiney’s always have lumps in their throats
and cry because they don't do just what they want to.
They whine if they can't have things they should not.
They whine if they can't go along when the should not
and they whine when other people tell them, NO.
OH, How They Whine.
THE NOISEYS
They shout and scream and yell until I can't even think.
They make so much NOISE they make me tired.
This is a ME FIRST who never took turns.
He wore his arms off grabbing things first.
He wore his legs off pushing in every place first and his face is this way
because he always tried to see first.
SMASH + RIP + RUIN
SMASH is never happy unless he is breaking things.
RIP is terrible.
She destroys everything that she can tear.
Books, dresses, paper, - - everything.
Sometime RUIN uses a hammer, sometimes uses ink or paint,
and sometimes he doesn't use anything but his hands.
But he always spoils things so no one can enjoy them any more.
PUTTING THING BACK
SMASH, RIP AND RUIN nearly always destroy the things they use.
If they do not they forget to put them back where they belong.
Then other people come along and step on them
or have to put thing back for them.
Don't be a SMASH, RIP, or RUIN.
BE KIND TO ANIMALS
THEY HAVE FEELINGS TOO
VISITING
When we go to visit someone and have a good time
We THANK them when we leave and say GOODBYE.
While we are there we do not act like
THE NOISEYS
THE PIGS
ME FIRST
WHINEYS
SMASH
RIP
RUIN or
TOUCHEY and THE SNOOPERS
THIS IS TOUCHEY
Where he goes he touches things.
He never thinks whether he should or not - -
Maybe it's because he hasn't any head - - he is all hands.
SNOOPERS
walk right into rooms where other people are when the doors are closed.
If they knocked first and ask if they might come in,
people would not call them SNOOPERS.
THIS IS YAWNER
Who yawned so much without putting his had over his mouth
this his mouth grew too big to cover.
SO SAD.
WHEN NIGHT COMES
It is time for sleep and people who like us all the day
Say GOODNIGHT.
Then it is time for us to go.
Only WHINEYS stand about while we are first in - -
BED
THESE NEXT PAGES ARE ABOUT OTHER MANNERS THAT I HAVE LEARNED
AND THE PICTURES ARE DRAWN BY ME
