Lesson 43 Over the South Pole
How was the plane able to clear the mountains?
In 1929, three years after his flight over the North Pole, the American explorer,
R.E. Byrd, successfully flew over the South Pole for the first time. Though, at first,
Byrd and his men were able to take a great many photographs of the mountains that
lay below, they soon ran into serious trouble. At one point, it seemed certain that their
plane would crash. It could only get over the mountains if it rose to 10,000 feet.
Byrd at once ordered his men to throw out two heavy food sacks. The plane was then able to
rise and it cleared the mountains by 400 feet. Byrd now knew that he would be able to
reach the South Pole which was 300 miles away, for there were no more mountains in sight.
The aircraft was able to fly over the endless white plains without difficulty.
Lesson 44 Through the forest
How did Mrs. Sterling get her bag back?
Mrs. Anne Sterling did not think of the risk she was taking when she ran through a forest
after two men. They had rushed up to her while she was having a picnic at the edge of
a forest with her children and tried to steal her handbag. In the struggle, the strap
broke and, with the bag in their possession, both men started running through the trees.
Mrs. Sterling got so angry that she ran after them. She was soon out of breath, but she
continued to run. When she caught up with them, she saw that they had sat down and were
going through the contents of the bag, so she ran straight at them. The men got such
a fright that they dropped the bag and ran away. The strap needs mending,
said Mrs. Sterling later, but they did not steal anything.
Lesson 45 clear conscience
How did Sam get his money back? The whole village soon learnt that a large sum of money
had been lost. Sam Benton, the local butcher, had lost his wallet while taking his savings
to the post office. Sam was sure that the wallet must have been found by one of the
villagers, but it was not returned to him. Three months passed, and then one morning,
Sam found his wallet outside his front door. It had been wrapped up in newspaper and
it contained half the money he had lost, together with a note which said:
A thief, yes, but only 50 percent a thief.
Two months later, some more money was sent to Sam with another note:
Only 25 percent a thief now. In time, all Sam's money was paid back in this way.
The last note said: I am 100 percent honest now!