Self Confidence
That is, Mr. Frog may be caught in this
manner, provided he is hooked the first time he snaps at the bait, but
if he is poorly hooked and makes a get-away, or if he feels the point
of the hook when he bites at the bait but is not caught, he will never
make the same mistake again.
The author spent many hours in stealthy attempt to hook a particularly desirable specimen which had snapped and missed, before learning that but one lesson in social heredity is enough to teach even a humble "croaker" that bits of red flannel are things to be let alone.
The author once owned a very fine male Airedale dog which caused no end of annoyance by his habit of coming home with a young chicken in his mouth. IS it not strange that we fear most that which never happens?
That we destroy our initiative by the fear of defeat, when in reality, defeat is a most useful tonic and should be accepted as such. Each time the chicken was taken away from the dog and he was soundly switched, but to no avail; he continued in his liking for fowl.
For the purpose of saving the dog, if possible, and as an experiment with social heredity, this dog was taken to the farm of a neighbor who had a hen and some newly hatched chickens. The hen was placed in the barn and the dog was turned in with her.
As soon as everyone was out of sight the dog slowly edged
up toward the hen, sniffed the air in her direction a time or two (to make
sure she was the kind of meat for which he was looking), then made a dive
toward her. Meanwhile Mrs. Hen had been doing some "surveying" on her own
account, for she met Mr. Dog more than halfway; moreover, she met him with
such a surprise of wings and claws as he had never before experienced.
The first round was clearly the hen's. But a nice fat bird, reckoned the dog, was not to slip between his paws so easily; therefore he backed away a short distance, then charged again. This time Mrs. Hen lit upon his back, drove her claws into his skin and made effective use of her sharp bill!