A wonderful plea for the telling of early superstitions to children is
to be found in an old Indian allegory called, "The Blazing Mansion."


An old man owned a large rambling Mansion. The pillars were
rotten, the galleries tumbling down, the thatch dry and combustible,
and there was only one door. Suddenly, one day, there was a smell
of fire: the old man rushed out. To his horror he saw that the
thatch was aflame, the rotten pillars were catching fire one by
one, and the rafters were burning like tinder. But, inside, the
children went on amusing themselves quite happily. The distracted
Father said: "I will run in and save my children. I will seize
them in my strong arms, I will bear them harmless through the
falling rafters and the blazing beams." Then the sad thought
came to him that the children were romping and ignorant. "If
I say the house is on fire, they will not understand me. If
I try to seize them, they will romp about and try to escape.
Alas! not a moment to be lost!" Suddenly a bright thought
flashed across the old man's mind. "My children are ignorant,"
he said; "they love toys and glittering playthings. I will
promise them playthings of unheard-of beauty. Then they will
listen."

So the old man shouted: "Children, come out of the house and see
these beautiful toys! Chariots with white oxen, all gold and
tinsel. See these exquisite little antelopes. Whoever saw
such goats as these? Children, children come quickly, or they
will all be gone!"

Forth from the blazing ruin the children came in hot haste. The