An Anecdote is an account of a single incident. It must be complete in itself. It should lead up to a surprise at the end. Nothing should be told that isn't necessary in order to make the point clear.

Exercise 22

Bead the following anecdote, and see if the point comes at the end as a surprise.

An Unselfish Motive

When little Margaret passed her plate for the third time for chicken, her mother said:

"My dear, you must not eat so much chicken. I am afraid you'll be ill."

"Well, mother," said Margaret, "I'm not eating this because I want it. I'm collecting the boues for Fido!"

Exercise 23. Oral Composition

Tell an anecdote to the class. Remember each point made in § 28. Use correct copulas. Don't run sentences together. Let the class decide who has the best story, and who tells his the best. It is a real accomplishment to be able to tell a story well. A good story teller adds to the pleasure of his friends.

Topics For Oral And Written Compositions

1. My most exciting adventure. (Try to make the story grow more and more interesting).

2. A runaway or a fire.

3. A good joke on me.

4.. Picking and storing apples, or selecting and storing seed corn.

5. Judging chickens, dogs, bread, or cake. (Get a score card if you can and explain it).

6. A hunting expedition.

7. Hunting with a kodak.

8. One rainy day.

9. Describe some tool or machine used in your manual training work. Explain its use.

10. Describe and explain a machine used in growing or harvesting the chief crop in your neighborhood, or one used in some factory.

11. Ways in which plants are propagated. Tell of four or five methods, and give examples of plants with which each method is used.

12. The best part of a nutting trip.

Sampling the Nuts. A. J. Swanson.